UN approves resolution targeting al-Qaida-linked fighters in Iraq and Syria

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution imposing sanctions on six men for recruiting or financing foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria and demanding that all al-Qaida-linked groups disarm and disband immediately.

The resolution adopted Friday expresses the council's readiness to impose sanctions on others recruiting, supporting and fighting for terrorist groups.

It was drafted in response to the recent offensive by the Islamic State extremist group, which has taken control of a large swath of eastern Syria and northern and western Iraq, brutalizing civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee, and increasing terrorist activity by other groups including al-Qaida-linked Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.