UN tells members to 'redouble' fight against IS

Putin wants global front against terror; Turkey arrests Paris attack suspect; Belgium on high alert.

U.N. Security Council members vote on a French-sponsored counter terrorism resolution aimed at Islamic extremist, Friday, Nov. 20, 2015 at United Nations headquarters. The Security Council unanimously approved the resolution, calling on all nations to redouble and coordinate action to prevent further attacks by Islamic State terrorists and other extremist groups. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

The UN Security Council on Friday authorised countries around the world to “take all necessary measures” to fight the Islamic State in a resolution that won unanimous backing, even as threats of possible terror strikes locked down Brussels, the Belgium capital that houses the European Commission headquarters.

The French-drafted measure calls on all UN member states to “redouble and coordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks” committed by IS and other extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda.

In a separate incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for global cooperation to combat terrorism. In a condolence telegram sent to Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the President of Mali where terrorists attacked a hotel and killed at least 19 people, including six Russians, Mr. Putin said “the widest international cooperation” was needed to confront global terrorism.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also pledged cooperation in the fight against terror on Saturday. “China will strengthen cooperation with the international community, resolutely crack down on violent terrorist operations that devastate innocent lives and safeguard world peace and security,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Mr. Xi as saying.

Arrest in Turkey

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities arrested three people with suspected ties to IS in the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, according to CNN Turk .

One of the suspects was identified as Ahmet Dahmani, 26, a Belgian national of Moroccan descent, who allegedly scouted target sites for the Paris attacks. He was arrested at a hotel in Antalya, according to the report.

Brussels lockdown

The Belgium government put the capital city, Brussels, on high security alert on Saturday, shutting metro services and warning people to avoid crowds because of “serious and imminent” threat of coordinated, multiple attacks by militants.

Soldiers were on guard in parts of Brussels, including at the institutions of the European Union headquartered in the city. Brussels is also home to the headquarters of NATO.

Meanwhile, French justice authorities said in Paris that seven of the eight people arrested on Wednesday following the police raid in Saint-Denis have been released. The man who hosted the terrorists in his flat Rue du Corbillon, Jawad Bendaoud, is still under police arrest on suspicion of being linked to the Paris attacks.