UN Experts Say Al-Qaida Affiliates Remain A Threat

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – U.N. experts say the threat from al-Qaida as a global terrorist organization has declined but the threat from its loosely linked affiliates and individuals radicalized by its “infectious ideas” persists and has become more sophisticated. The experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against al-Qaida said in a report Wednesday to the Security Council that “individuals and cells associated with al-Qaida and its affiliates continue to innovate with regard to targets, tactics and technology.”

They pointed to the growing sophistication and reach of terrorist propaganda on the Internet, recent terrorist attacks in Boston, London and Paris committed by individuals or small groups, and the emergence of a strong al-Qaida presence in Syria. Al-Qaida’s “rhetoric and its calls for attacks continue to mobilize violent radicals, regardless of where they are based,” the experts said.