The Taliban, the main Afghan insurgent group, remains "closely aligned" with al-Qaeda, a transnational terrorist organization, says a report by the United Nations sanction monitoring team, alleging that the bond between the two has grown deeper.

The report by the 18-member Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team was submitted to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, showing the Taliban still remains committed to its relationship with al-Qaeda.

Under the 2020 Doha agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the former had committed to breaking its ties with all terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda.

However, the recently released scathing report shows the group has shown no signs of breaking ties. It says “no material changes to this relationship, which has grown deeper as a consequence of personal bonds of marriage and shared partnership in struggle, now cemented through second generational ties.”

al-Qaeda remains present in at least 15 provinces in Afghanistan- mainly southern, southeastern, and eastern parts, the report says. Significantly, the members of the global terrorist organizations have recently been moved to more remote areas of the country, possibly to avoid attacks.

Importantly, several al-Qaeda members have reportedly been killed in operations by the Afghan security forces. Afghan Ministry of Defense has repeatedly highlighted that this relationship.

“Al-Qaeda maintains contact with the Taliban but has minimized overt communications with Taliban leadership in an effort to 'lay low’ and not jeopardize the Taliban’s diplomatic position vis-à-vis the Doha agreement,” the UN report says.

According to the report, a significant part of al-Qaeda leadership remains based in the region along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The group’s aim in near future, the report claimed, is to maintain its safe haven in Afghanistan for the core leadership of the group.

 The sanction monitoring team also took note of assessments that have suggested a longer-term Al Qaida core strategy of strategic patience for a period of time before it would seek to plan attacks against international targets again.