Islamic State extremists exploit instability in Africa and Syria, U.N. experts say

UNITED NATIONS — Islamic State extremists are exploiting instability in Africa and Syria and remain a significant threat in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe, U.N. counterterrorism experts said Wednesday.

The militant group is now using advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, and social media, which poses a new challenge, the experts told a U.N. Security Council meeting.

The Islamic State group declared a self-styled caliphate in a large swath of Syria and Iraq that it seized in 2014. It was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017 following a three-year battle that left tens of thousands of people dead and cities in ruins, but its sleeper cells remain in both countries and it has affiliates and supporters in many other countries.

The U.N. has seen a resurgence of activity by the Islamic State in the Sahel – in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – and in West Africa the group has emerged “as a prolific producer of terrorist propaganda and attracted foreign terrorist fighters, primarily from within the region,” said Vladimir Voronkov, who heads the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism.

He said arrests in Libya have revealed logistics and financing networks with connections to IS in the Sahel.

In Somalia, Voronkov said, a large-scale IS attack was countered by Somali security forces and some 200 IS fighters were killed and over 150 arrested. But he said despite the losses IS still benefits from regional support networks and remains a threat.

In northcentral Africa’s Lake Chad Basin region, the Islamic State is “increasingly receiving foreign material and human support to conduct its operations, including money, drones and expertise on improvised explosive devices,” said Natalia Gherman, who heads the executive directorate of the U.N. Counter-Terrorism Committee.

“Its ability to adapt and exploit instability continues to pose significant challenges, particularly in parts of Africa,” she said. “The continent bears over half the world’s fatalities from terrorist attacks.”

In the Middle East, Voronkov said IS is active in Iraq and Syria, where it is trying to restore its operations in the northwest Badia desert region and renew effort to destabilize local authorities. He said the militants are exploiting security gaps, conducting covert operations and inciting sectarian tensions in Syria.

In Afghanistan, the Islamic State group’s Khorasan affiliate “continues to represent one of the most serious threats to Central Asia and beyond,” Voronkov said, citing its targeting of civilians, minority groups and foreign nationals.

Gherman added that IS-Khorasan is using “propaganda tactics and online campaigns” to try to recruit and fundraise in Central Asia and Europe.

She called for innovative responses to the Islamic State group’s use of artificial intelligence and social media for recruitment, fundraising and propaganda.

“Although AI is being harnessed to amplify the group’s reach and impact, it also holds significant potential for states to enhance the detection, prevention and disruption of terrorist activities,” Gherman said.