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Bahrain diplomat calls for greater effort to thwart funding for extremists such as IS

Associated Press
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Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, left, listens to journalists while standing with Finance Minister Sheik Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa during a conference titled: Combating the Financing of Terrorism, in Manama, Bahrain, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Representatives from several countries gathered to discuss ways to stop the flow of money to groups such as the extremist Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) (The Associated Press)

Participants addresses delegates during a conference titled: Combating the Financing of Terrorism, in Manama, Bahrain, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Representatives from several countries gathered to discuss ways to stop the flow of money to groups such as the extremist Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) (The Associated Press)

Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, center on screen, addresses delegates during a conference: Combating the Financing of Terrorism, in Manama, Bahrain, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014. Representatives from several countries gathered to discuss ways to stop the flow of money to groups such as the extremist Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) (The Associated Press)

Bahrain's foreign minister says world leaders must do more to cut off funding for terrorist groups and prevent them from profiting from illegal businesses.

Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told a gathering of international delegates in the Bahraini capital Manama on Sunday that combatting the financing of militants such as the Islamic State group "is half the battle to defeating them."

The one-day Manama meeting is aimed at bringing together financial experts to improve the fight against extremist fundraising. It follows a meeting in Paris in September in which diplomats from around the world pledged to fight Islamic State militants.

It includes representatives from several Arab nations as well as the United States, Europe and international bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.