Updated 02:50 a.m. Moscow Time
UNITED NATIONS, September 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Thursday against perceiving the Islamic State (IS) militant group as the sole regional threat.
Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council, Lavrov said Russia supports the US proposal to adopt a resolution aimed at cutting off all terrorist activity.
Lavrov added that "at the same time we want to caution against the temptation to narrow down the problem, to pretend that the Islamic State, with its inhuman ideology and ghoulish killings of journalists…is the only threat to the region."
The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), was fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad before it started launching attacks in northern and western Iraq in June.
Later that month, the radical Sunni jihadist group declared itself a "caliphate," and claimed religious authority over all Muslims globally.
In August, the United States authorized airstrikes to help Bagdad fight against IS positions in Iraq. More airstrikes were launched against IS positions by the United States earlier this week, following the unveiling by US President Barack Obama of an anti-IS strategy, which includes forming an international coalition and authorizes airstrikes against IS positions in Syria.
The IS has released several online videos, promoting radical Islam and capturing the executions of several hostages, including American journalist James Foley. The militants said Foley was executed in response to US airstrikes against IS positions in Iraq. The radicals have also executed Steven Sotloff, a US journalist, and David Haines, a UK humanitarian aid worker.
