A UN Security Council sanctions monitoring report has said the November 2025 terror attack near Delhi’s Red Fort was “officially attributed” to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).
The 38th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted to the Security Council’s 1267 Sanctions Committee on ISIL and Al-Qaeda, said AQIS had continued to evolve from a fragmented outfit into a regional terrorist entity.
“AQIS established logistics and financial networks, working in decentralised small, scattered cells instead of large units.
The attack in November 2025 on the Red Fort in Delhi was officially attributed to AQIS,” the report said.
The attack, one of the deadliest terror incidents in Delhi in recent years, involved an explosion in a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station. About 15 people were killed and several others injured.
The report also expressed concern over AQIS seeking to exploit Bangladesh to establish cells there.
It further said Al-Qaeda and ISIL (Da’esh) had maintained a sustained interest in developing chemical and biological weapons, though they had so far failed to overcome the technical challenges involved.
“For example, in February, ISIL (Da’esh)'s English-language Invade magazine included instructions on how to develop botulinum toxin and cyanide,” it said.
The report said ISIL-K had shown “particular interest” in developing ricin and had circulated related instructions over the past year. It added that Indian authorities arrested three people, including a doctor, at the end of 2025 for allegedly being tasked by an ISIL (Da’esh) cell abroad with developing ricin.
On the regional security situation, the report said tensions in South Asia remained “high” amid continued cross-border attacks between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“The terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan remained largely unchanged.
The ability of numerous terrorist groups to operate in Afghanistan constituted an enduring threat to neighbouring countries and the Central Asian region.
Despite efforts by the de facto authorities to combat Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan and contain other terrorist groups, the authorities were unable to suppress the terrorist problem,” it said.
The report also noted that Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced a revised organisational structure on December 25, following its annual rahbari shura (leadership council).
The restructuring included two new divisions covering Balochistan and the central region, and Kashmir and Gilgit, along with a new division described as the TTP Air Force.
(With inputs from PTI)