WASHINGTON: The United States tightened financial pressure on Islamic State on Tuesday, slapping sanctions on more than 30 leaders, supporters and affiliates around the world to squeeze the militant group Washington is having trouble defeating.

The Treasury Department designated 15 people as Islamic State supporters for providing technical, logistic or financial backing, working as political leaders or recruiting foreign fighters. The designations allow the government to freeze their assets and bars US citizens from dealing with them.
The State Department named 10 individuals and five groups affiliated with Islamic State as foreign terrorist fighters, a designation that enables financial sanctions and penalties on them and their supporters.