The Islamic State group poses rising threat in Africa despite progress, UN experts say

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. counter-terrorism officials say the Islamic State extremist group poses a rising threat amid political instability in West Africa and the Sahel and remains intent on carrying out attacks abroad. The U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Thursday the situation in West Africa and the Sahel was becoming more complex, with local ethnic and regional disputes combining with the agenda of the Islamic State group, while the extremist group has also increased its operations in its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria and in Southeast Asia. Other officials told the Security Council they were working to address the use of technology for terrorist purposes such as drones, encryption tools and propaganda dissemination.