Al-Qaeda is seeking to expand its network in Bangladesh by establishing active cells, the United Nations has warned in a new Security Council report.

The report says Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is evolving from a fragmented group into a regional militant organisation, relying increasingly on small, dispersed cells rather than large units.

It is also developing logistical and financial networks, according to the UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team.

The team published its 38th report on Aug 10.

The report also attributed the Nov 10, 2025, bombing outside New Delhi’s Red Fort to AQIS, while raising concerns that the group is seeking to use Bangladesh to establish operational cells.

The UN assessment also examined the continuing interest of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, in chemical and biological weapons.

Neither group has so far overcome the technical barriers to developing such weapons, it said.

In late 2025, Indian authorities arrested three people, including a doctor, over alleged links to ISIL and said they had been tasked with producing ricin, a highly toxic chemical.

ISIL had also sought to seize chemical materials left behind after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, abducting a chemical engineer to assist in the effort, the report said.

While ISIL’s operational capacity has declined in Southeast Asia, the UN warned that dispersed cells, online recruitment and extremist networks continue to pose a threat.