UNITED NATIONS: The dreaded terror outfit Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in South-East Asia (ISIL-SEA) has been designated as a global terrorist organisation by the United Nations Security Council.
The Security Council's 1267 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee added the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in South-East Asia to its list of designated entities last week, subjecting it to assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
The outfit, also known as Islamic State East Asia Division and Dawlatul Islamiyah Waliyatul Mashriq, was, according to the UN website, formed in June 2016, upon announcement by now-deceased Isnilon Hapilon, and is associated with Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, listed as Al-Qaida in Iraq.
Hapilon was the leader of Abu Sayyaf, a group affiliated with ISIL, and was killed in 2017.
The 1267 Committee comprises all 15 members of the Security Council and makes its decision by consensus.
It prepares annual reports of its activities, oversees the implementation of the sanctions measures on designated individuals and entities who meet the listing criteria set out in the relevant resolutions and conducts periodic and specialised reviews of the entries on the ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions List, according to the UN website.
On January 16 the committee added Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba's deputy chief Abdul Rehman Makki to its list of designated terrorists.