IS adapting to increased military pressure: UN warns

The UN political chief on Tuesday warned that the extremist group Islamic State (IS) is adapting in several ways to military pressure including by using the "dark web" to communicate and recruit members.

Jeffrey Feltman, UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, told the Security Council that IS is on the defensive militarily in several regions; and meanwhile the group is resorting to increasingly covert communication and recruitment methods, including by using encryption and messengers.

Noting the income of the group as well as the territory under its control are shrinking, Feltman said the IS still "appears to have sufficient funds to continue fighting," and it might try to expand other sources of income, like kidnapping for ransom and increase its reliance on donations.

He also warned that IS has expanded its area of attacks to countries neighboring Iraq and Syria and foreign terrorist fighters leaving Iraq and Syria augment the threat of terrorism in their countries of origin.

To address the rising threats, Feltman highlighted the need for "the broadest possible international cooperation" in the judicial and law enforcement spheres and strengthened collaboration on information sharing among member states.

He also called on member states to step up efforts to prevent and resolve the violent conflicts that both drive and are made worse by terrorism to effectively "deprive terrorism of the oxygen it needs to survive." Endit