UN experts: Terrorist threat is high in Africa conflict zones and Afghanistan, and rose in Europe

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

U.N. experts say the terrorist threat from al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and their affiliates remains high in conflict zones in Africa and in Afghanistan – and threat levels have risen in some regions including Europe. The panel of experts said in a new report to the U.N. Security Council that the relationship between Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and al-Qaida remains close, and unnamed member states report that “the high concentration of terrorist groups” in the country are undermining the security situation in the region. The experts said the greatest threat within Afghanistan still comes from the Islamic State. It says al-Qaida doesn’t have the capability for long-range operations but “they harbor global ambitions.”