India, Feb. 20 -- The threat posed by more than two dozen terror groups active in Afghanistan remains a "driver of instability" in the region, with the Afghan Taliban's "permissive environment" allowing al-Qaeda to consolidate, according to a new United Nations report.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province, also known as ISIL-K and based in Afghanistan, poses the "greatest extra-regional terrorist threat", said the report from the team monitoring the UN Security Council's sanctions on Islamic State and al-Qaeda and their affiliates.

Despite the loss of territory and attrition among senior and mid-tier leaders of more than two dozen terror groups operating in Afghanistan, UN member states believe the security threat emanating from the coun...