(VOVworld) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved on Thursday a draft law aimed at preventing radical German Muslims from traveling to Iraq and Syria to fight for groups like Islamic State or from undergoing training with such groups or financing them.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Photo: Getty)

Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said the bill, when approved by parliament, will make Germany the second European Union member state after France to implement "foreign fighters" measures sought by the United Nations in a resolution last year.

German security services say about 600 German residents have joined IS and other similar groups in Syria and Iraq. Some returning fighters have been put on trial and others have been prosecuted for providing support.