Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 13: The November 2025 blast near Delhi's Red Fort that killed 11 people was carried out by an offshoot of Al-Qaida, according to the latest report of the United Nations Security Council's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. The assessment also warned that Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is expanding its regional network.
The report said AQIS has continued to evolve from a fragmented organisation into a more structured regional terrorist entity, developing logistics and financial networks while relying increasingly on small, decentralised cells rather than large formations.
It also noted that the Red Fort attack was initially attributed to AQIS and described it as the clearest indication of the group's growing operational capabilities. The monitoring team further flagged concerns over AQIS seeking to exploit Bangladesh to establish operational cells.
The blast took place on November 10, 2025, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device exploded near the Red Fort. Indian authorities had identified Umar un-Nabi, a former assistant professor at Al-Falah University in Faridabad, as the primary perpetrator. He died in the explosion.
The National Investigation Agency had earlier said the module behind the attack was inspired by AQIS and that the blast formed part of a wider terror conspiracy. The latest UN assessment gives the investigation an international dimension by linking the attack to AQIS.
According to the UN assessment, AQIS has retained the ability to plan and support operations despite sustained counterterrorism pressure. Its use of small and scattered cells could make the organisation harder for security agencies to detect and disrupt.
The report also highlighted a sharp escalation in cross-border violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Taliban authorities have been accused of continuing to support the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has stepped up attacks against Pakistani security forces.
The increase in attacks has contributed to retaliatory military action and heightened tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
AQIS was also linked in the assessment to attacks attributed to Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including a suicide bombing and a vehicle-borne explosive attack near a security post in Bannu.
The assessment said the development underlined concerns over AQIS increasingly focusing on external operations and operating through affiliated or umbrella structures, potentially making attribution and disruption more difficult.
The UN monitoring team also flagged the growing use of artificial intelligence by terrorist organisations and their supporters.
According to the assessment, operatives have increasingly used AI tools, including ChatGPT, to seek information related to bomb-making and target selection.
The report said Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIL-K) has also been using AI to translate and disseminate propaganda rapidly in multiple languages, enabling the group to reach wider audiences.
UN monitors further raised concerns over the continued interest of terrorist organisations in chemical and biological weapons. ISIL's English-language publication Invade reportedly carried material relating to botulinum toxin and cyanide, highlighting the group's continuing interest in unconventional weapons.
The UN sanctions regime also underwent changes during the reporting period, with three individuals added to the terrorism sanctions list and seven removed.
The latest assessment comes as the UN monitoring team warns that terrorist organisations are adapting their structures, financing, propaganda and operational methods to evade counterterrorism measures.
The AQIS attribution of the Red Fort blast is significant for India as it places the November 2025 attack within the broader regional network of Al-Qaida-linked activity identified by the UN.