Al Qaeda resilient, still cooperates with LET, says UN report

GROUPS ALIGNED WITH AL QAEDA ARE STRONGER THAN THEIR ISIL COUNTERPARTS IN IDLIB, SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC, YEMEN, SOMALIA AND MUCH OF WEST AFRICA, ACCORDING TO THE UN.

WASHINGTON: Though overtaken by the Islamic State, al Qaeda remains “resilient”, continues to consider Afghanistan a safe sanctuary for its leaders and works closely with the Lashkar-e-taiba and the Haqqani Network, a UN counter-terrorism watchdog set up by the Security Council has said in a new report.

Though diminished with the loss of its so-called “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State has evolved into a “mainly covert network” and its leadership is focussing on establishing “sleeper cells at the local level in preparation for eventual resurgence”. Even in this state, the Islamic State poses the most “immediate threat to global security” and remains stronger than al Qaeda in terms of its finances, media profile and current combat experience and terrorist expertise, said the report by UN’S terrorism watchdog, set up through Resolution 1267 of the Security Council.

But al Qaeda ‘remains resilient”, it said, although there are questions about its leader Ayman al-zawahiri’s health and the succession plan. It “continues to cooperate closely” with Lashkare-taiba and the Haqqani Network, the report said, underscoring the threat these Pakistanbased terrorist groups continue to pose for the region and the world. A recent US defence department report spoke of the existence of hundreds of LET fighters in Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda remains the source of the largest collection of foreign fighters, which is Afghanistan. The terrorist outfit responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks remain a potent forced in Afghanistan. Its “members continue to function routinely as military and religious instructors for the Taliban,” the UN report said. And it remains entrenched there and “considers Afghanistan a continuing safe haven for its leadership, relying on its long-standing and strong relationship with the Taliban leadership,” the UN body said.

Under Taliban patronage, al Qaeda is keen to strengthen its presence in Badakhshan Province, in particular in the Shighnan area bordering Tajikistan, as well as in Barmal, in Paktika Province, it added.

The 24th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team was submitted to the UN Security Council al Qaeda Sanctions Committee this month.

The sanctions monitoring team submits independent reports every six months to the Security Council on the Islamic State, al Qaeda and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities.