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U.N. Adds Four Britons to Sanctions List Over ISIS Membership
U.N. Adds Four British Members of ISIS to Sanctions List
(about 9 hours later)
LONDON — The United Nations has imposed international sanctions on four British members of the Islamic State for the first time, a move aimed at stemming the flow of recruits to the organization.
LONDON — Hoping to stem the flow of recruits to the Islamic State, the United Nations has imposed sanctions on four British members of the militant group, including an aspiring doctor, a former punk rocker and a former security guard for a grocery.
Responding to a request from the British government, the United Nations placed two men and two women, all described as active online recruiters for the group, on its sanctions list on Monday.
The British government requested the move after identifying the four as active online recruiters. They were placed on the United Nations’ sanctions list on Monday, subjecting them to asset freezes and bans on international travel.
The four Britons will now be subject to travel bans and asset freezes under the terms of a United Nations resolution initially passed to fight support for Al Qaeda.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has drawn nearly 30,000 recruits from abroad since 2011, including an estimated 4,500 from the West. About 1,000 fighters a month have been joining its ranks, though there has also been a trickle of defectors in recent months. More than 700 Britons have traveled to Syria or Iraq to fight for militant groups, and about half have returned, according to the British police.
More than 700 Britons have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight for militant groups, and around half of them have returned, according to the British police.
The United Nations identified the four Britons as Omar Hussain, Nasser Muthana, Aqsa Mahmood and Sally-Anne Jones.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has drawn nearly 30,000 recruits from abroad, including an estimated 4,500 from the West. The group gets an average of about 1,000 fighters a month, although there has been a trickle of defectors in recent months.
The office of the British prime minister, David Cameron, said the four were associated with “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities” in support of the Islamic State. It said they were the first British citizens whom the government had sought to add to the sanctions list since 2006.
The United Nations identified the four Britons as Omar Hussain from High Wycombe, England; Nasser Muthana from Cardiff, Wales; Aqsa Mahmood from Glasgow; and Sally-Anne Jones from Chatham, England.
“We will do all we can to stop British citizens from going to fight for ISIL,” a spokesman for the prime minister said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under government rules. “As well as the domestic measures we have introduced, such as the power to seize passports, these sanctions are a powerful tool.”
The four are associated with “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities” in support of the Islamic State, said a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister David Cameron. The statement also said it was the first time since 2006 that the government had sought to have British citizens added to the sanctions list.
The former punk-rock musician — Ms. Jones, 46 — traveled to Syria in 2013 with her young son and her husband, Junaid Hussain, 21, a well-known computer hacker for the Islamic State. He was reported to have been killed in a drone strike last month.
“The prime minister has been absolutely clear that we will do all we can to stop British citizens from going to fight for ISIL, and that foreign fighters should face consequences for their actions,” a representative for the prime minister’s office said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, citing protocol. “As well as the domestic measures we have introduced, such as the power to seize passports, these sanctions are a powerful tool.”
The British news media have referred to Ms. Jones as “Mrs. Terror” and reported that she had told people how to make homemade bombs and encouraged them to mount attacks in Britain. Ms. Jones is believed to have used more than 20 Twitter accounts and to have once posted on the social media site a photograph of herself in nun’s habit, pointing a revolver.
One of the four Britons, Ms. Jones, is a 46-year-old former punk rocker who traveled to Syria in 2013 with her young son and husband, Junaid Hussain, 21, a high-profile hacker for the Islamic State who was killed in a drone strike last month.
After her husband’s death, Ms. Jones said on Twitter that she would continue her activities. “My husband said he wanted me to carry on if he got shaheed,” or martyred, she wrote. She added, “I do not fear the Kuffar,” or infidels, and “England hates me — praise be to God.”
The British news media have referred to her as “Mrs. Terror” and reported that she encouraged individuals to conduct terrorist attacks in Britain and gave guidance on making homemade bombs.
The medical student — Ms. Mahmood, 21 — has emerged as a vocal supporter of the Islamic State and as one of its leading online recruiters, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors the online activity of militants.
Ms. Jones is believed to have used more than 20 Twitter accounts and once posted to the social media site a photograph of herself in nun’s dress, pointing a revolver.
She is also an important figure in the Khanssaa Brigade, an all-female militia set up to enforce religious strictures in Raqqa, the de facto headquarters of the Islamic State in Syria, according to the British authorities.
Ms. Jones said on Twitter that she would continue her activities despite her husband’s death. “My husband said he wanted me to carry on if he got shaheed,” or martyred, she wrote in a Twitter post. “I do not fear the Kuffar,” she wrote, using a word to mean infidel, adding, “ENGLAND hates me — praise be to god.”
She is thought to have lured three teenagers from London to the region this year, although her parents, part of an affluent family in Glasgow, denied that she was involved. Ms. Mahmood has used social media to encourage terrorist attacks in Western countries.
Ms. Mahmood, 21, an aspiring doctor from an affluent family in Glasgow, has emerged as one of the most vocal supporters of the Islamic State and as one of its most established online recruiters, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadists’ online activity.
The former supermarket guard — Mr. Hussain, 27, also known as Abu-Said al-Britani — is also an active recruiter and advocate on social media, and has appeared in a propaganda video for the Islamic State in which he dared Western governments to send troops. “We’ll send them back, one by one,” he was heard to say.
She is also an important figure in the Khanssaa Brigade, a female militia set up to enforce Shariah, the legal code of Islam, in Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State, according to the British authorities.
In an interview with the BBC, Mr. Hussain said, “I hate the U.K.” and added, “The only reason why I would intend to return to the U.K. is when I want to come and plant a bomb somewhere.”
She is thought to have lured three teenagers from London to the region this year, although her parents denied that she was involved. She has used social media to encourage terrorist attacks on Western countries, and she called on Muslims in Britain to follow the example of “brothers from Woolwich, Tex., and Boston.”
Mr. Muthana, 21, has also appeared in recruitment videos, including one posted in 2014 that was titled “There Is No Life Without Jihad.”
Like the two women, Omar Hussain, 27, also known as Abu-Said al-Britani, is an active recruiter and advocate on social media. Mr. Hussain, a former supermarket security guard, has appeared in a propaganda video for the Islamic State in which he dared Western governments to send troops.
Britain has joined the American-led air campaign against the Islamic State. Two of the three militant fighters reportedly killed by a British drone strike in Syria in August were British citizens. Michael Fallon, the British defense secretary, said the drone strike had been legal and suggested that Britain would not rule out conducting more such strikes.
“We’ll send them back, one by one,” he said.
He also appeared in an interview on the BBC and declared, “I hate the U.K.,” adding that, “The only reason why I would intend to return to the U.K. is when I want to come and plant a bomb somewhere.”
The other new addition to the United Nations sanctions list, Mr. Muthana, 21, has also appeared in recruitment videos, including one in 2014 titled “There Is No Life Without Jihad,” in which he called for Muslims from Western countries to join the fighting in Syria and Iraq.
The publication of the sanctions list came after three fighters, including two Britons, were killed by a British drone strike in Syria in August. Michael Fallon, the British defense secretary, has defended the drone strikes, saying that they were legal and hinting that Britain would not rule out further strikes.
