A possible alliance of the terror organizations ISIS and Al Qaeda is a new potential threat to the regional security, Director of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (RATS SCO) Yevgeniy Sysoyev has said.
As EurAsian Times reported earlier, reports are coming from Central Asian countries bordering Afghanistan that the numbers of Islamists units are increasing in the region.
On May 25, Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev announced that the number of militants in northern Afghanistan has touched 15,000-20,000.
RATS SCO
The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a permanent part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which works to strengthen cooperation of SCO members to fight terrorism, separatism and extremism.
The Head of RATS SCO is elected for a three-year term. Each member state also sends a permanent representative to RATS.
India, China Relations Accelerated With Strong People-to-People, Cultural and Business Ties
The RATS was formed in the June 2004 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which was held in Tashkent. RATS is involved in boosting collaboration and relations between member nations regarding terrorism, security, drug trafficking, crime and cyberwarfare.
The SCO is the biggest regional organisation as per the population and the geographic landmass it covers. The SCO member nations include China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India and Pakistan.
