Al Qaeda remains a global security threat 25 years after 9/11
The network has shifted from centralised global jihad to regional insurgencies, but affiliates remain active across several conflict zones as analysts warn of weakening US counter-terrorism capacity.
Twenty-five years after the 11 September 2001 attacks, al Qaeda remains a significant security threat through a decentralised network of regional affiliates operating across the Sahel, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The organisation has changed substantially since Osama bin Laden directed the attacks from Afghanistan. Bin Laden was killed in a US raid in Pakistan in 2011, while his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was later killed in a strike on Kabul. Al Qaeda’s authority is now spread across at least two dozen franchises and affiliates.
The Sahel is the network’s most active regional theatre, according to France 24 reporting. JNIM, described as al Qaeda’s leading affiliate in the region, operates across Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Al Shabaab remains a potent force in Somalia, while AQAP has rebuilt financial resources and resumed propaganda activity despite military setbacks in Yemen.
A United Nations monitoring assessment said money from a ransom paid for a hostage released in Mali in late 2025 was channelled to several affiliates, including al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and AQAP, as well as senior leaders. The material attributes the assessment to the UN and does not independently establish the reported flow of funds.
Al Qaeda’s ability to conduct attacks in the West appears diminished, with the December 2019 Pensacola naval air station shooting the last reported attack on US soil claimed by an affiliate. However, analysts cited by France 24 warned that reduced US counter-terrorism staffing, funding and strategic focus could weaken the architecture built after 9/11.
European governments continue to monitor jihadist threats, but Russia’s war against Ukraine and concerns about Russian interference have altered security priorities. The shift from global attacks to locally focused insurgencies has reduced al Qaeda’s visibility without ending its capacity to destabilise conflict-affected regions.
