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The Islamic State officially declared war on Saudi Arabia on Thursday after the kingdom formed a 34-state coalition to fight against the terror organization. In a new video released by ISIS, which purports to show another cruel execution, the jihadists warn Saudi from cooperating with the coalition of "Crusaders." The ISIS militants also provoke the Saudis, challenging them to face the Islamic State in Syria. The video ends with the purported execution of a man presented as a Saudi collaborator as a message to the leadership in Riyadh.
The Saudi-led coalition is expected to train and arm forces that would fight against ISIS militants, alongside cooperation in the field of intelligence. The Arab coalition received the backing of the United State, which is leading a Western coalition fighting against the Islamic State - mostly through airstrikes in Syria and Iraq. "Nothing is off the table," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said this week when asked if the new Islamic coalition is going to put boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria. "It depends on the requests that come, it depends on the need and it depends on the willingness of countries to provide the support necessary," al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris.
Among the countries joining Saudi in the fight against ISIS are Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and several Arab states. That list does not, naturally, include the Shi'ite Iran, which is already involved in the fight against ISIS in the framework of its aid to the Assad regime in Syria, but is considered a bitter rival of Saudi's. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a US and Russian-drafted resolution that ties together existing measures targeting Islamic State's finances and offers guidance on implementation in a bid to push more countries to act. It builds on a Security Council action in February that banned trade in antiquities from Syria, threatened sanctions on anyone buying oil from Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front militants and urged states to stop kidnap ransom payments.
News - Islamic State declares war against Saudi Arabia
The Islamic State group is already subject to U.N. sanctions under resolutions dealing with al-Qaida. But the proposed resolution, sponsored by the United States and Russia, elevates IS to the same level as al-Qaida, reflecting its split from al-Qaida and the growing threat it poses especially in the Mideast and North Africa. U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who will chair Thursday's meeting, said when the meeting was announced earlier this month that disrupting the Islamic State group's financing and cutting it off from the international financial system "are critical to effectively combating this violent terrorist group." U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters Wednesday that the meeting is an unprecedented chance to bring together the people with the technical abilities to track and cut off funds to "starve" the Islamic State group of resources.
The Islamic State group, also known as ISIL and Daesh, controls a large swath of Syria and Iraq, including oil and gas fields, though bombing campaigns by the U.S.-led coalition and ground forces have enabled Iraq to regain some territory. While the resolution is aimed at cutting off some of IS' outside revenue streams, a U.N. diplomat and U.S. official said the majority of funding for the extremist group comes from internal sources which are difficult to disrupt. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The U.S. official said getting at IS' revenue is a serious challenge because much of it is internally generated from oil and gas sales which have the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually as well as from taxation and extortion. This is in contrast to al-Qaida, whose funding typically comes from outside donors, including charities and kidnapping for ransom.
This undated file image posted on a militant website on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows fighters from the al-Qaida linked ISIL marching in Raqqa, Syria.
The draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, would rename the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaida "the ISIL (Daesh) and al-Qaida sanctions committee." It calls ISIL a splinter group of al-Qaida and stresses that "any individual, group, undertaking, or entity supporting ISIL or al-Qaida" is subject to U.N. sanctions, including an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. Power, the U.S. ambassador, said the resolution will be a new piece of international law that "will require countries to do more than they have been doing." The fact the Islamic State group is still able to traffic in oil and artifacts and extort people is "a problem we should be able to solve," she said.
The draft encourages the 193 U.N. member states "to more actively submit" names for inclusion on the sanctions list and expresses "increasing concern" at the failure of countries to implement previous sanctions resolutions. It calls on all countries "to move vigorously and decisively to cut the flows of funds and other financial assets and economic resources" to those on the sanctions list. The proposed resolution urges countries to share information about extremist groups and calls for a report within 120 days on what every country is doing to tackle the financing of IS and al-Qaida. It also requests Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to provide an initial "strategic-level report" in 45 days on the sources of financing of IS and associated groups, including through illicit trade in oil, antiquities and other natural resources, as well as their planning and facilitation of attacks, and to provide updates every four months.
UN Set to Adopt Resolution to Disrupt Islamic State Funds | Military.com
