The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a legally binding resolution compelling countries to “prosecute and penalise” concerning the recruiting of jihadist fighters to foreign conflicts.

The US-drafted resolution was sparked by the rise of militant group ISIL.

US President Barack Obama chaired the council session.

Earlier Obama told the UN General Assembly that the world must reject what has become a cancer of violent extremism.

He said militants have “perverted one of the world’s great religions”.

“The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death. In this effort we do not act alone,” said Obama.

“Today I ask the world to join us in this effort. It is time for the world especially in Muslim communities to explicitely, forcefully and consistently reject the ideology of organisations like Al-Qaeda and ISIL,” Obama added.

Stefan Grobe, euronews correspondent, reported from New York: “President Obama came to the UN seeking to sell the global public a war he never wanted to fight. But the sudden rise of ISIL has changed the equation dramatically.

“Obama did not offer any of the ‘with-us-or-against-us’ rhetoric of George W Bush. He made it clear, though, that American leadership is needed to create peace and stability in an unsettled world.”