UN report links Red Fort attack to AQIS, flags regional expansion

A UN report has linked the November 2025 Red Fort attack in Delhi to AQIS, warning that the group is evolving into a regional terrorist organisation with decentralised cells, financial and logistical networks, while potentially seeking expansion into Bangladesh and neighbouring countries

Washington: A United Nations report has linked the November 2025 attack on Delhi’s Red Fort to Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), warning that the group is developing into a regional terrorist organisation with expanding financial and logistics networks.

The finding appears in the 38th report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. The report was submitted to the Security Council committee dealing with Islamic State, Al-Qaida and associated groups.

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AQIS continued to evolve from a fragmented group into a regional terrorist entity, the report said. It added that the organisation had established logistics and financial networks and was working through decentralised small, scattered cells instead of large units. The attack in November 2025 on the Red Fort in Delhi was officially attributed to AQIS, it said.

It also flagged concern over the group’s possible expansion in India’s neighbourhood. There was some concern about AQIS trying to exploit Bangladesh to establish cells there, the report said. The UN assessment placed the development within a broader deterioration of the security environment in South Asia. It said the global terrorist threat remained broadly unchanged but had intensified in the Sahel and South Asia.

The report said regional tensions remained high as cross-border attacks between Pakistan and Afghanistan continued. It accused the Taliban authorities of continuing their support for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which had escalated attacks against Pakistan and provoked military exchanges.

The Taliban continued to deny harbouring terrorist groups, it said. Member states were concerned that the conflict could create opportunities for extremist organisations and generate further security challenges across the region.

According to the report, the ability of several terrorist groups to operate in Afghanistan remained an enduring threat to neighbouring countries and Central Asia. It said the Taliban had been unable to suppress the terrorist problem despite operations against Islamic State-Khorasan and attempts to contain other groups.

The report said AQIS also formed the backbone of Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, which was reportedly responsible for several attacks. AQIS leaders were believed to remain in Kabul and had reportedly been issued Afghan identity documents, suggesting close cooperation between the Taliban and the organisation.

It also said Al-Qaida had provided ideological guidance, training and support to TTP. In April, Al-Qaida’s official media outlet publicly backed the Taliban and, for the first time, TTP operations against Pakistan.

The Security Council’s sanctions regime against Islamic State and Al-Qaida traces its mandate to resolutions adopted since 1999. Its Monitoring Team submits independent assessments every six months to help member states evaluate terrorist threats and implement asset freezes, travel bans and arms embargoes.