The British government officially banned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Thursday, according to Agence France Presse.
"Today the UK is proscribing terrorist organisations that support the Assad regime, that are fighting against it, and those with ambitions beyond Syria that have taken advantage of the collapse of security and the rule of law," Security Minister James Brokenshire told reporters.
"[Terrorism related to the civil war in Syria] will pose a threat to the UK for the forseeable future...[banning ISIL sends] a strong message," he added.
The House of Commons passed the proscription motion unopposed, with some lawmakers even calling for more extreme measures beyond a simple ban.
The UK has already banned four other groups linked to the Syrian conflict before its ISIL ban announcement Thursday--the Abdallah Azzam Brigades,the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Kateebat Al Kawthar Brigade,and Turkey's Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
Under the ban, it is considered an official offense to "belong, invite support...or wear clothing or carry items in public indicating support" for the groups above, according to the AFP report.
More than 65 Syria-related arrests have been made in the UK since January 2013, and at least 14 people have had their passports confiscated this year alone, many of whom were linked to the Syrian group bans.
