UN experts urge halt to ransoms financing al-Qaeda

UN experts are urging a halt to hefty ransom payments that have made kidnapping a core tactic for al-Qaeda and its affiliates in recent years.

In a report to the Security Council yesterday, the panel monitoring sanctions against al-Qaeda also recommended reinforcing a travel ban against affected individuals by using biometrics and improving government lists of "inadmissible" passengers.

The experts say improvised explosive devices are "the primary weapon of choice of al-Qaeda and its affiliates" and recommend that all countries include explosives and the raw materials and components to make IEDs under the al-Qaida arms embargo.

Overall, the panel said al-Qaeda "remains a threat, even though it has not been able to recover its former strength," while "multiple al-Qaida affiliates are evolving, often autonomously.