WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of State has designated senior Islamic State members Amru al-Absi and Salim Benghalem "specially designated global terrorists."
The designation, authorized under Executive Order 13224, targets terrorists and supporters of terrorists or acts of terrorism. The State Department described the terrorist acts committed by Absi and Banghalem in its Wednesday announcement.
"As of mid-July 2014, Amru al-Absi was selected as ISIL's provincial leader for Homs, Syria, in the Aleppo region. As a principal leader of ISIL in Syria, he has been in charge of kidnappings.
"Salim Benghalem is a Syria-based French extremist and ISIL member, who carries out executions on behalf of the group. In 2007, Salim was convicted and sentenced to prison in France for a 2001 murder. Today, Benghalem is the subject of a European arrest warrant because of his activities on behalf of ISIL."
The terror designation notice also included two militant groups operating in Syria and eight individuals.
"Formed in February 2013, Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JAMWA) is a Chechen-led terrorist organization based in Syria that consists primarily of foreign fighters. Cooperating with other violent extremist organizations in Syria, including al-Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), JAMWA has launched deadly assaults against civilian communities, and kidnapped civilians and other foreigners in Syria.
Advertisement"Formed in August 2013, Harakat Sham al-Islam (HSI) is a Moroccan-led terrorist organization operating in Syria principally composed of foreign fighters. HSI has carried out terrorist attacks and engaged in kidnappings against civilians with other violent extremist organizations in Syria, including al-Nusrah Front."
The State Department designated the following six individuals as "global terrorists," all of whom were reportedly active in Syria: al-Qaida member Mohammed Abdel-Halim Hemaida Saleh; IS foreign fighter Lavdrim Muhaxheri; Junud al-Sham leader Murad Margoshvili; al-Nusrah Front foreign fighter Nusret Imamovic; al-Qaida facilitator Muhannad al-Najdi; and al-Qaida-linked foreign fighter Abdessamad Fateh.
Al-Qaida operative and trainer Abd al-Baset Azzouz, with links to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was also designated, as was al-Shabaab's new head of foreign fighters, Maalim Salman.
The State Department released the announcement of the terror designations following the unanimous passage of an international counter-terrorism resolution on foreign fighters by the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.
