US designates two top Islamic State leaders as 'global terrorists'

The US on Thursday designated two top ISIS leaders as 'global terrorists'.

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Washington: The United States on Thursday designated two top Islamic State leaders as 'global terrorists' as they pose a significant risk to America.

Ahmad Alkhald, a Syrian national, is an ISIS bomb-maker responsible for the deaths of numerous civilians in Europe.

Abu Yahya al-Iraqi, also known as Iyad Hamed Mahl al- Jumaily, is a senior ISIS figure who reports to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The State Department said Alkhald is the explosives chief of the terrorist cell that carried out the November 2015 attacks in Paris and the March 2016 attacks in Brussels.

Alkhald travelled to Europe where he helped plan the Paris attacks and manufacture the explosive belts used in that plot, which killed and injured hundreds of people, including a number of Americans.

Following his return to Syria shortly before the attacks in Paris, Alkhald continued to guide ISIS operatives in Europe on making the bombs used in the March 2016 Brussels attacks.

Alkhald is wanted internationally and a European warrant for his arrest has been issued.

On the other hand, Al-Iraqi has reportedly played a key role in security for Al-Baghdadi and oversees ISIS security in Iraq and Syria, the State Department said.

The US has so far designated over 30 ISIS leaders and operatives.

The media note reads as follows:

The Department of State has designated two ISIS leaders – Ahmad Alkhald and Abu Yahya al-Iraqi – as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (EO) 13224. EO 13224 imposes strict sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.

These designations seek to deny Alkhald and al-Iraqi the resources they need to plan and carry out further terrorist attacks. Among other consequences, all of Alkhald’s and al-Iraqi’s property and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them...

...These designations are part of a larger comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS that, in coordination with the 73-member Global Coalition, has made significant progress toward this goal. This whole-of-government effort is destroying ISIS in its safe havens, denying its ability to recruit foreign terrorist fighters, stifling its financial resources, countering the false propaganda it disseminates over the internet and social media, and helping to stabilize liberated areas in Iraq and Syria so the displaced can return to their homes and begin to rebuild their lives.

In addition to designating ISIS as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under E.O. 13224, the Department of State has also designated over 30 ISIS leaders and operatives under E.O. 13224, and will continue to target the group to deny it access to the US financial system. 

.@StateDept designates two #ISIS leaders, Ahmad Alkhald & Abu Yahya al-Iraqi, as terrorists under E.O. 13224 - https://t.co/eJxh9uzIqd pic.twitter.com/axifBNp5VP — State Dept CT Bureau (@StateDeptCT) August 17, 2017

(With PTI inputs)