UN tries to clampdown on IS funding

The UN Security Council urged countries to deny the Islamic State and other extremist groups their sources of money and fighters by shutting down oil trade, refusing ransom payments and tightening security checks.

The council statement followed a new UN report that estimates the Islamic State’s potential revenue from crude oil ranges from $846,000 to $1.64m per day and that it raised an estimated $35m to $45m in a 12-month period from ransom payments.

The report recommends new sanctions but warns that these alone are insufficient to counter the global terror threat.