Al-Qaeda rising again? Terror group has 50 times more recruits than it had before 9/11, says UN monitor

Despite multinational efforts to contain it, al-Qaeda has grown in strength in recent years and now has 50 times more recruits than it did at the time of 9/11, when it killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States, the United Nations (UN) has warned.

The UN monitoring group has concluded that al‑Qaeda now has 25,000 members, compared to 5,000 at the time of 9/11, according to The Times of London.

The figure, based on information collated from intelligence agencies such as the British MI6, was shared at a briefing at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) ahead of the publication of the UN Security Council (UNSC) monitoring team’s annual global terrorist threat report.

Even as groups like the Islamic State and conflicts such as the -and Russia-Ukraine wars have taken centre stage in recent years, al‑Qaeda has not laid down its arms and remains committed to carrying out spectacular attacks around the world, the UN has warned.

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“They are still planning attacks against us. They are still plotting. The threat is still there. We neglect that threat or we overlook it, frankly, at our peril,” said Colin Smith, the team’s co‑ordinator, as per The Times.

Smith further warned that terrorists no longer have an obvious centre of operations but are spread across several regions in Africa and West Asia.

Al-Qaeda’s recruitment tactics are evolving

Even as al‑Qaeda retains the ability to mount major attacks, the current crop of terrorists is different, according to the UN.

Smith said many of al‑Qaeda’s current members joined the group or its affiliates without a proper understanding of the cause and without “buying into” the global agenda. In contrast, around 500 members in 2001 at the time of 9/11 were fanatics drawn to the group because of its ideology.

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Lately, al‑Qaeda has used local grievances and poverty to lure recruits, often through financial incentives.

The UNSC monitoring team also found shifts in propaganda, in the multipolarity of target groups, and in how terrorist organisations are adapting and evolving, according to The Times.

The UN team found that terrorist groups were increasingly targeting young people, sometimes as young as 11, believing they would be easier to indoctrinate, as per the report.

Moreover, the report said terrorist groups were using technology to produce video tutorials for building armed drones and explosives.

Al‑Qaeda’s revival in Afghanistan

Following Afghanistan’s takeover by the Taliban, the country has emerged not just as a safe haven but also as a breeding ground for al‑Qaeda.

Contrary to the Taliban’s claims that it does not support terrorism, the UNSC report said al‑Qaeda continued to enjoy the Taliban’s patronage and, in fact, acted as a service provider and force multiplier for other terrorist groups in Afghanistan, particularly the Tehrik‑i‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP), through training and advice.

The mention of the partnership between the TTP and al‑Qaeda comes at a time when the TTP has ramped up its campaign against the Pakistani state — 2025 was the deadliest year for Pakistan in more than a decade. Last year, Pakistan’s relationship with the Taliban also plunged to its lowest level as they engaged in multiple border clashes and accused each other of acting against their core interests.

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The report noted that al‑Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has continued to be active in south‑eastern Afghanistan, where the Haqqani Network exerts considerable influence.

Moreover, AQIS head Osama Mahmoud and his deputy, Yahya Ghauri, are believed to have been in Kabul, as per the report.

“There were concerns that AQIS was increasingly focused on external operations. Such operations would likely be unclaimed or deniable, perhaps as part of the umbrella group Ittihad‑ul‑Mujahideen Pakistan, so as not to create difficulties for the Taliban as hosts of AQIS,” the report warned.