Al-Qaeda Offshoot Behind Delhi’s Red Fort Blast: UNSC Report

United Nations, Aug 13: 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 report submitted to the UN Security Council by its Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team.

The report, the 38th submitted to the Security Council’s 1267 Sanctions Committee on ISIL and Al-Qaeda, said AQIS had continued to evolve from a fragmented group into a regional terrorist entity, operating through decentralized and scattered cells supported by logistics and financial networks.

“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.

A high-intensity explosion had ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort Metro station, killing around 15 people and injuring several others.

The UN report also flagged concerns over AQIS attempting to exploit Bangladesh to establish cells there.

It further warned that Al-Qaeda and ISIL (Da’esh) had maintained a sustained interest in developing chemical and biological weapons, although they had so far been unable to overcome the technical challenges involved. Instructions for producing such weapons, however, have been circulated widely in online terrorist communities.

The report said ISIL’s English-language Invade magazine carried instructions in February on developing botulinum toxin and cyanide, while ISIL-K had shown particular interest in ricin. It noted that Indian authorities arrested three people, including a doctor, at the end of 2025 for allegedly being tasked by an overseas ISIL cell with developing ricin.

The report also said regional tensions in South Asia remained high amid cross-border attacks between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It warned that the terrorist threat from Afghanistan remained largely unchanged, with numerous terrorist groups continuing to operate there and posing an enduring threat to neighbouring and Central Asian countries.

The report further noted that Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced a revised structure after its December 25 leadership council, creating new divisions covering Balochistan and the central region, as well as Kashmir and Gilgit, besides a new division described as the TTP Air Force. (AGENCIES)