The United Nations (UN) is expected to impose sanctions, upon a request by the UK government, on four British nationals accused of fighting or recruiting for the Takfiri Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group operating in Syria.

Britain named the four as 21-year-old Asqa Mahmood, Sally Anne Jones, 46, Abu-Said al-Britani, also known as Omar Hussain, 28, and Nasser Muthana, 21.

The two women and men, who are thought to be based in Syria’s northern militant-held city of Raqqa, will face UN travel bans and asset freezes.

Double standards

A spokesman for UK Prime Minister David Cameron, whose name was not mentioned in the reports, said Monday that the move to place the four Britons under UN sanctions is meant to stop more people from being lured into joining the ranks of Daesh.

“We will do all we can to stop British citizens from going to fight for ISIL,” the UK official said.

The British government said it was the first time in 10 years that Britain had submitted names to the UN sanctions list.

The concerns by the UK government come despite the fact that London has been supporting the militants operating in the Middle East. Observers believe the UK government only fears the return of battle-hardened militants to British territory.

There is increasing alarm in the UK about the hundreds of Britons being tempted to enter Iraq and Syria to join militant groups there. According to British police, at least 700 Britons have traveled to support or fight for the Takfiri terrorists in the two Arab countries.

Back in February, three British schoolgirls traveled to Syria to join Takfiri terrorists.

Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Amira Abase, 15, boarded a flight from London Gatwick airport to Turkey and then crossed the border into a Daesh-controlled region in Syria.

Syria has been gripped by deadly conflict since 2011. The violence has been fueled by foreign-sponsored Takfiri terrorist groups and has so far led to the death of about 250,000 people over the past more than four years.

The UN says the militancy has displaced more than 7.6 million Syrians internally, and over four million others have fled the country to take refuge in neighboring states, including Jordan and Lebanon.

According to The New York Times, some 30,000 militants, including more than 250 Americans, from over 100 countries have entered Syria and Iraq since 2011.

‘UK aiding, abetting terrorists’

In an interview with Press TV’s website on Tuesday, Don DeBar, a political activist and radio host, described Daesh and al-Qaeda as “core mercenary groups” that have been trained and supported by the West.

He said that the UK officials, including Prime Minister Cameron and his predecessor Gordon Brown, “that have the people in parliament, including most of people in House of Lords, the weapons manufacturers and the people with finances” have aided and abetted the terrorist group.