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UN Security Council targets Islamic State financing UN Security Council targets Islamic State financing
(about 3 hours later)
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution aimed at cracking down on trade with and ransom payments to militant group Islamic State (IS). The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution aimed at cracking down on trade with, and ransom payments to, Islamic State (IS) militants.
The measure calls for sanctions on any person or group trading with IS or al-Qaeda affiliates like al-Nusra Front. The measure calls for sanctions on any person or group trading with IS.
Some European governments are believed to have paid ransoms to IS to secure the release of their captured citizens. In the US, Republicans are trying to toughen legislation President Barack Obama has sent to Congress authorising military action against IS.
A November report by the UN estimated that jihadist groups are earning up to $1.65m (£1m) per day from oil sales. The US Senate has voted overwhelmingly to approve Pentagon official Ashton Carter as the new defence secretary.
The United States, however, says that oil is no longer Islamic State's principal source of revenue. He replaces Chuck Hagel, who resigned in November, and is likely to play a key role trying to persuade Congress to pass the legislation on military force.
The resolution is expected to put pressure on the Turkish government, as the country is considered a key transit point for oil shipments, with trucks often returning to Iraq and Syria with refined products. The UN resolution was passed unanimously, another indication of how the international community has come together to target IS, said the BBC's Nick Bryant.
Antiquities looted A UN report estimates jihadist groups are earning up to $1.65m (£1m) per day from oil sales, and at least $35m a year from ransom payments.
The Russian-drafted text initially focused primarily on oil smuggling, but its scope was broadened to cover other revenue streams. The UN resolution is expected to put pressure on the Turkish government as the country is considered a key transit point for oil shipments, with trucks often returning to Iraq and Syria with refined products.
The motion, co-sponsored by more than 35 countries' delegations, was unanimously passed by the Security Council, and encourages states to make efforts to disrupt the movement of oil tankers carrying oil smuggled from IS-controlled territory. It also extends a ban on the trade in antiquities looted from Iraq, which was already in place, to also cover items taken from Syrian territory.
The text of the resolution does not authorise the use of military force against IS targets.The text of the resolution does not authorise the use of military force against IS targets.
It extends the ban on the trade in antiquities looted from Iraq, which was already in place, to also cover items taken from Syrian territory. Republican pressure
Iraq's UN ambassador warned last year that Islamic State fighters had looted art and archaeological treasures from the city of Mosul when they overran it last summer. President Obama has sent a formal request to Congress for authorisation for further military action against IS targets.
Mohamed Ali Alhakim told AFP news agency: "Mosul is a historic city, the University of Mosul is one of the oldest. It has art and treasures and these were all stolen. They are not only looting, they are chopping down walls [of ancient buildings]." But Republicans, who control the House and Senate, want changes, and are pressing for stronger action from the Obama administration.
Suspected 'interviewed' Ed Royce, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said coalition strikes against IS had not gone far enough.
Meanwhile, the monthly magazine released online by IS has published what it claims is an interview with Hayat Boumeddiene, widow of the Paris hostage taker Amedy Coulibaly. "This air campaign isn't pummelling the enemy as it should,'' he said. "Congressional authority is of no value if the president isn't willing to act decisively."
Mr Carter was approved by the Senate by a vote of 93 to five.
He was the Pentagon's second-highest ranking official for two years and has degrees in physics and medieval history.
In another development, an IS magazine published what it said was an interview with Hayat Boumeddiene, widow of the Paris hostage taker Amedy Coulibaly.
Coulibaly took several hostages, four of whom were killed, at a kosher supermarket in Paris, two days after gunmen stormed the offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo.Coulibaly took several hostages, four of whom were killed, at a kosher supermarket in Paris, two days after gunmen stormed the offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The interview, published in Dar al-Islam, does not name Hayat Boumeddiene and does not feature any photographs of her, but describes her as "the wife of Amedy Coulibaly". The interview, published in Dar al-Islam, does not name Hayat Boumeddiene and does not feature any photographs of her but describes her as "the wife of Amedy Coulibaly".
She is quoted as saying Coulibaly was a supporter of the group's aims, and that "it is good to live in the land that is governed by the laws of God." She is quoted as saying Coulibaly was a supporter of the group's aim.
She is wanted for questioning in France in connection with the attacks in Paris, which took place several days after she is believed to have crossed into IS-controlled territory.She is wanted for questioning in France in connection with the attacks in Paris, which took place several days after she is believed to have crossed into IS-controlled territory.
'Flexibility and authority'
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has sent a formal request to Congress for authorisation of further military action against Islamic State targets.
Republican US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday that members from his party, who had criticised the proposal as too passive, would make the case "give our military commanders the flexibility and the authority they need to defeat the enemy".