UN report: The jihad’s new center of gravity

The latest report by the United Nations Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team states that Africa has become the main battlefield for both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, that Al Qaeda’s senior leadership remains marginalized, and that Al Qaeda is collaborating with the Afghan Taliban and TTP to project threats into Pakistan. Generation Jihad’s Bill Roggio and Edmund Fitton-Brown, FDD senior fellow and former coordinator of the UN Monitoring Team, unpack the new 1267 report on the global state of the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and their affiliated groups.

They challenge the report’s claim that Al Qaeda’s leadership is marginalized, highlight a $50 million ransom that strengthened its network, and examine what a UN assessment can and cannot reveal about the Long War’s current threat.