New Delhi: The November 2025 terror attack near Delhi’s Red Fort has been officially attributed to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), according to a United Nations Security Council sanctions monitoring report.
The finding was included in the 38th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted to the UNSC’s 1267 Sanctions Committee, which deals with sanctions related to ISIL and Al-Qaeda.
The report said AQIS had undergone a transformation in recent years, moving from a fragmented organisation towards a regional terrorist entity with a wider operational reach.
“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, regarded as one of the most serious terror incidents in the national capital in recent years, involved an explosion in a slow-moving vehicle at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station. Around 15 people were killed, while several others suffered injuries, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The UN panel also raised concerns over AQIS efforts to use Bangladesh as a base for setting up operational cells.
It further warned that Al-Qaeda and ISIL, also known as Da’esh, continued to pursue capabilities related to chemical and biological weapons, despite being unable to overcome the technical difficulties involved in developing them.
“For example, in February, ISIL (Da’esh)’s English-language Invade magazine included instructions on how to develop botulinum toxin and cyanide,” it said.
According to the report, ISIL-K had displayed a keen interest in ricin and had circulated material containing instructions on its development during the past year.
The monitoring team also noted that Indian authorities had arrested three people, including a doctor, towards the end of 2025. They were allegedly assigned by an ISIL (Da’esh) cell operating abroad to develop ricin.
On the security situation in the region, the report said South Asia continued to face heightened tensions because of ongoing 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 threatto 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 referred to an organisational overhaul announced by the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on December 25, following its annual rahbari shura, or leadership council meeting.
As part of the restructuring, the TTP created two new divisions dealing with Balochistan and the central region, and Kashmir and Gilgit. It also announced a new division described as the TTP Air Force.
