UN Sanctions Eight Individuals and Entities Linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS

On Thursday, July 20, the UN Security Council voted decisively to sanction eight individuals and companies associated with the two groups Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, ISIS. According to the Associated Press, Security Council members voted on these sanctions within the framework of a resolution prepared by the United States, aimed at increasing 'international efforts to combat terrorism and the financing of terrorists.' The eight individuals and entities added to the UN sanctions list include leaders of ISIS in Southeast Asia, ISIS-affiliated groups in Syria, and Caucasian militants. In response to the adoption of this resolution, the Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN described the event as 'another important step' in defeating ISIS and Al-Qaeda extremists and their affiliates. The Russian counterpart of this representative also described the adoption of the resolution as 'a very important step in strengthening the fight against terrorism.' This resolution was adopted on the same day that James Mattis, the US Secretary of Defense, briefly mentioned that the international coalition against ISIS is expanding and announced an imminent victory over this group. The emphasis by this senior US official on the imminent victory over the Islamic State comes at a time when this group has been pushed back from several fronts, suffering significant defeats in recent weeks. Less than two weeks ago, after a nearly nine-month battle, Haider al-Abadi, the Prime Minister of Iraq, returned to the city of Mosul on July 9 and declared 'complete victory' in the fight against ISIS militants. The Associated Press reports that the adopted Security Council resolution does not mention the nationalities of the sanctioned individuals. However, the two extremist groups added to the sanctions list are the group known as 'Jund al-Aqsa,' which according to the US representative is linked to the Al-Nusra Front, and the group 'Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid,' which is linked to ISIS. In the annual report released by the US State Department two days ago, the group known as 'the Islamic State' or ISIS is named as the most significant terrorist group in the last two years, responsible for the massacre of many civilians in various parts of the world. However, the US State Department states that despite the terrorist activities of Iran and groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram, the number of terrorist attacks in 2016 decreased by 9% compared to the previous year, and the number of deaths from these attacks dropped from 11,774 to 11,072.