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STORY: UN / COUNTER TERRORISM ISIL DAESH
TRT: 03:42
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / RUSSIAN /NATS
DATELINE: 04 FEBRUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
04 FEBRUARY 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Maed shot, Anna Strząska, European External Action Service Special Envoy for Counter-Terrorism
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Alexandre Zouev, Acting Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism:
“The threat posed by Da’esh increased steadily since the previous report, remaining multipolar and increasingly complex. The group and its affiliates continued to adapt and demonstrate resilience despite sustained counter‑terrorism pressure. They continued to recruit foreign terrorist fighters, and to enhance their use of new and emerging technologies. Da’esh has also been able to maintain access to funding streams through opportunistic fund‑raising, unlawful taxation, and kidnapping for ransom.”
5. Wide shot, Acting Under-Secretary-General Alexandre Zouev addressing Council
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Alexandre Zouev, Acting Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism:
“The situation in West Africa and the Sahel remains especially urgent. In the Lake Chad Basin, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has further expanded its prominence. In the Middle East, Da’esh remains active in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, with continued attacks and renewed efforts to destabilize local authorities. In the Syrian Arab Republic, the security situation remains fragile, with Da’esh continuing to exploit governance vacuums and incite sectarian tensions.”
7. Wide shot, Zouev addressing Council
8. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Alexandre Zouev, Acting Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism:
“The situation in the camps and detention facilities in the northeast of the Syrian Arab Republic remains gravely concerning. Thousands of individuals, most of them women and girls, continue to face insecurity, violence, and an acute lack of essential services. All member states must boost their efforts to facilitate the safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation of these individuals in accordance with international law and the best interests of women and children.”
9. Wide shot, Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Director Natalia Gherman addressing Council
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Natalia Gherman, Executive Director, Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate:
“Amid vast changes across the United Nations system, we must not lose sight of our shared goal to preserve international peace and security. The efforts of the United Nations to address Da’esh threat are critical. These efforts require adequate resources and the cooperation of all Member States to achieve our shared goal; a world free from terrorism.”
11. Wide shot, Council
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Elmore, Member of Parliament, Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State, United Kingdom:
“The horrific terror attack at Bondi Beach in December shocked the world. This was a deliberate assault on innocent people, fuelled by hatred and designed to spread fear. The United Kingdom stands in solidarity with Australia and with the Jewish community. Our thoughts remain with the victims and with everyone around the world who lives with fear and pain caused by such violence. As long as terrorism and anti-Semitism remain global threats, we have a shared responsibility to confront them with determination. Working with partners, we will continue to disrupt the activities of Da’esh's murderous networks, limit their reach, and counter their war propaganda.”
13. Wide shot, Council
A top United Nations counter-terrorism official today (4 Feb) said the threat posed by Da’esh has “increased steadily” and remains “multipolar and increasingly complex,” while the situation in West Africa and the Sahel “remains especially urgent.”
Acting Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, Alexandre Zouev, told the Security Council that the group and its affiliates “continued to adapt and demonstrate resilience despite sustained counter‑terrorism pressure,” continued “to recruit foreign terrorist fighters, and to enhance their use of new and emerging technologies.”
He said, “Da’esh has also been able to maintain access to funding streams through opportunistic fund‑raising, unlawful taxation, and kidnapping for ransom.”
In the Lake Chad Basin, Zouev said, “the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has further expanded its prominence,” while in the Middle East, “Da’esh remains active in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, with continued attacks and renewed efforts to destabilize local authorities.”
In Syria, he said, “the security situation remains fragile, with Da’esh continuing to exploit governance vacuums and incite sectarian tensions.”
The situation in the camps and detention facilities in the northeast of Syria, the official said, “remains gravely concerning” as “thousands of individuals, most of them women and girls, continue to face insecurity, violence and an acute lack of essential services.”
He called on member states to “boost their efforts to facilitate the safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation of these individuals in accordance with international law and the best interests of women and children.”
Also briefing the Council, the Executive Director of the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, Natalia Gherman, said, “amid vast changes across the United Nations system, we must not lose sight of our shared goal to preserve international peace and security.”
Gherman said, “the efforts of the United Nations to address Da’esh threat are critical. These efforts require adequate resources and the cooperation of all Member States to achieve our shared goal; a world free from terrorism.”
The United Kingdom’s Under-Secretary of State, Chris Elmore, for his part told the Council that the “horrific” terror attack at Bondi Beach last5 December were “a deliberate assault on innocent people, fuelled by hatred and designed to spread fear.”
Elmore said, “as long as terrorism and anti-Semitism remain global threats, we have a shared responsibility to confront them with determination. Working with partners, we will continue to disrupt the activities of Da’esh's murderous networks, limit their reach, and counter their war propaganda.”
The United Kingdom holds the presidency of the Council during the month of February.
