UNITED NATIONS: A UN counter-terrorism official warned on Thursday that the Afghanistan branch of the militant Islamic State group (IS) poses the greatest external terrorist threat to Europe as it boosts its organisational strength.

“ISIL-K has improved its financial and logistical capabilities in the past six months, including by tapping into Afghan and Central Asian diasporas for support,” Vladimir Voronkov, undersecretary-general for counter-terrorism, said.

ISIL-K, or IS-K, is an acronym for the group’s branch in Afghanistan, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province. The group claimed a March attack on a music hall in Moscow, which left 145 people dead.

The risk of the Afghanistan branch carrying out terrorist attacks abroad has “become manifest,” Voronkov said, noting the group has also intensified its recruitment efforts.

In the latest report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the subject, published last month, it was noted that authorities were on high alert against potential attacks during the Euro football championship and Paris Olympics.

“I call on all member states to unite to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a hotbed of terrorist activities that affect other countries,” Guterres wrote.

Elsewhere, Voronkov warned of a resurgence of IS’s core structure in the Middle East, as well as a deteriorating situation in Africa, where IS West Africa Province and IS’s Sahel branch “have expanded and consolidated their areas of operations.”

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2024