Al-Qaeda more dangerous than Islamic State in some parts of the world, warn UN experts

The report by experts monitoring sanctions against both groups, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, said al-Qaeda affiliates "remain a threat at least as serious" as IS in West Africa and South Asia.

In a separate report circulated on Tuesday, UN experts said IS still poses "a significant and evolving threat around the world" despite recent setbacks in Iraq, Syria and the southern Philippines that forced the militants to relinquish strongholds.

The new report said unnamed countries highlight the support between some al-Qaeda and IS members in the preparation of attacks, which poses "a potential new threat" in some regions.

Late last month, a senior member of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula called an attack on America and Jews in reaction to US President Donald Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

In a video, Khalid Batarfi said Trump's decision was "a declaration of a new Jewish-Crusader war" and every Muslim had a duty to "liberate" the holy city, the SITE Intelligence monitoring group reported.

"No Muslim has the right to cede Jerusalem no matter what happens," said Batarfi, a top commander with the group's powerful Yemen-based branch. "Only a traitor would give it up or hand it over."

"Let them (Muslims) rise and attack the Jews and the Americans everywhere," he said, in the 18-minute video entitled "Our Duty Towards Our Jerusalem".