UNITED NATIONS, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council, at the initiative of the United States, lifted sanctions on Tuesday on Afghanistan's national airline now that the Taliban no longer rules the central Asian country. All international commercial flights to and from Afghanistan were halted by the Security Council in November 1999 in an effort to force the Taliban to turn over Saudi-born extremist Osama bin Laden, then suspected by the United States of plotting the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa. The sanctions, which included an arms embargo, a freeze of financial funds and other measures, were tightened in December 2000, forcing most internal flights to be canceled for lack of spare parts. The resolution, adopted by a 15-0 vote, lifts sanctions against the crippled Ariana Afghan Airlines because it is "no longer owned, leased or operated by or on behalf of the Taliban." The current fleet of the airline includes only two planes and three pilots. Tuesday's resolution represented a prelude to a revamp of the sanctions against Afghanistan that the council is expected to adopt before Friday, including allowing the country's central bank to operate again. This would allow the release of funds frozen while the Taliban was in power, including some $221 million in gold reserves and cash in the United States.