US designates 4 Al-Qaeda, Taliban leaders as global terrorists

WASHINGTON, Dec 2: The Biden administration has designated two leaders of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and two of the Tehrik i Taliban Pakistan (TTP) movement in Afghanistan as global terrorists, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press release.
“Yesterday, the Department of State designated four AQIS and TTP leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (EO) 13224, as amended, for their leadership roles in their respective groups,” Blinken said in his statement on Thursday.The four individuals are Osama Mehmood, Atif Yahya Ghouri, Muhammad Maruf and Qari Amjad, the statement said.
“As a result of these actions, all property and interests in property of those designated yesterday that are subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and all US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them,” Blinken said.
The US Government remains committed to using its full set of counterterrorism tools to counter the threat posed by terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Blinken added.