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US President Barack Obama is chairing a UN gathering of world leaders to discuss counter-terrorism.The US is seeking support for the fight against groups including Islamic State.
The US state and treasury departments say they have imposed new sanctions on IS and its affiliates aimed at cutting off their sources of financing.
The meeting comes a day after Mr Obama and the leaders of Russia, China and Iran addressed the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on its 70th anniversary.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Mr Obama on the sidelines of the UNGA to discuss the Syrian war.
As well as imposing news sanctions, the State Department has designated two British citizens as being involved in foreign terrorism; the list also includes three Frenchmen.
It said: “As part of the effort to counter the threats posed by foreign terrorist fighters, the Department of State has designated 10 individuals and five groups, and amended the designations of two additional groups as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Executive Order 13224, which imposes sanctions and penalties on terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.”
That meeting, and the leaders’ speeches at the UNGA, have highlighted splits about how to end the conflict.
Russia, which is president of the UN Security Council for the month, will chair its own meeting on Wednesday on countering extremism.
In his speech to the UNGA on Monday, Mr Obama said compromise among powers would be essential to ending the Syrian conflict, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives and forced four million people to flee abroad.
He also called for the creation of a “broad anti-terror coalition” to fight IS, comparing it to the international forces that fought against Nazi Germany in World War Two.
The US and Russian leaders have long differed on Syria. The US and France say Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad must go, while Russia has been a staunch ally of the regime in Damascus and has recently stepped up military support.
Some Western leaders have recently softened their stance towards the Syrian president, conceding that he might be able to stay in power during a political transition.
Syria’s civil war
What’s the human cost?
More than 250,000 Syrians have been killed and one million injured in four and a half years of armed conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a full-scale civil war.
And the survivors?
More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes, four million of them abroad, as forces loyal to President Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other – as well as jihadist militants from IS. Growing numbers of refugees are going to Europe.
How has the world reacted?
Regional and world powers have also been drawn into the conflict. Iran and Russia, along with Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, are propping up the Alawite-led government. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are backing the Sunni-dominated opposition, along with the US, UK and France.
The threat of IS extremists and the flow of Syrian refugees to Europe has added urgency to the search for a deal to end the civil war.
Observers also continue to report attacks on civilians by government forces.
A US-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq for more than a year.
The UK announced this month it had carried out a drone strike against two British citizens in Syria, but has yet to fly manned operations in Syrian airspace.
Over the weekend, France confirmed its first air strikes against IS targets. A number of other countries, including Australia, Canada and Jordan, have also conducted bombing missions.
