WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- A Hamas operative and an operative of the Spanish militant group ETA have been designated as terrorists, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.
Hamas operative Muhammad Hisham Muhammad Ismail Abu Ghazala and Basque Fatherland and Liberty -- known by the initials ETA -- leader Jurdan Martitegui Lizaso were designated under an executive order that targets terrorists and those who provide support to terrorists or acts of terrorism, the State Department said in a release.
The designations will help disrupt the flow of money to Abu Ghazala and Martitegui by barring U.S. entities from conducting business with them and freezing any assets they have under U.S. jurisdiction, the department said.
Hamas and ETA both are designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations.
Abu Ghazala is a Hamas operative and has ties to Iran and al-Qaida, the department said. He is an improvised explosive device facilitator with connections to IED networks in northern Iraq and is also responsible for distributing remote detonation device designs used by Iraq's former regime, as well as terror organizations.
Martitegui is a long-term ETA member and has engaged in terrorist activities such as murder, bombing, recruiting and training, and providing logistical support, the State Department said. Martitegui participated in ETA's Vizcaya Command, which the State Department said was responsible for many terrorist acts, including the 2006 bombing of the Madrid-Barajas Airport parking garage.
