US Targets ISIL, Al-Nusrah Front, And Foreign Fighters

In addition to targeting terrorist leaders and financial and procurement networks generally, US authorities made a number of designations this quarter imposing sanctions on persons affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Nusrah Front (ANF). In making these designations, OFAC stated its support for UN Security Council Resolution 2170, which was adopted in August 2014 to condemn ISIL and ANF, and other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with al Qaeda. ISIL was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department in December 2004, while ANF was designated in May 2014.

On August 15, the same day that UNSCR 2170 was adopted, OFAC designated Abdul Mohsen Abdullah Ibrahim al-Sharikh and Hamid Hamad Hamid Al-'Ali as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs); both individuals were also included in the Annex to the UN resolution. Al-Sharikh was named for being an al Qaeda facilitator who moved to Syria in 2013 with other al Qaeda fighters and joined ANF; he allegedly previously served as head of al Qaeda's Iran-based financial network and as a financial facilitator for al Qaeda in Pakistan. Kuwait-based Al-'Ali allegedly has raised tens of thousands of dollars to help ANF purchase weapons and supplies and has facilitated the travel to Syria of individuals wishing to fight for ANF. On August 18, the State Department designated Abu Mohammed al-Adnani and Said Arif as SDGTs; both individuals were also included in the annex of the recently adopted UNSCR 2170. Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, born in Syria as Taha Sobhi Falaha, is the official spokesman for and a senior leader of ISIL. Al-Adnani purportedly was one of the first foreign fighters to oppose Coalition forces in Iraq before becoming ISIL's spokesman. Said Arif fled house arrest in France in October 2013 and traveled to Syria to join al-Nusrah Front. Arif is an officer deserter from the Algerian army who traveled to Afghanistan in the 1990s, where he trained in al Qaeda camps, and was a suspect in the al Qaeda December 2000 plot to bomb the Strasbourg Christmas market. In 2003, Arif was arrested and was put on trial in France with 25 others as part of the "Chechen Network," which was accused of plotting to blow up the Eiffel Tower and conducting chemical attacks and attacks on malls and police stations in France. In 2006, Arif was convicted and sentenced for his role in these planned attacks.

On August 19, the State Department designated...

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