US tries to prevent flow of arms and terrorists from Syria to Iraq

U.S. targets al Qaeda in Iraq operative

Thu May 14, 2009 12:46pm EDT

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday moved to block the assets of the head of a group it said had funneled money, weapons and terrorists from Syria to al Qaeda in Iraq.

The Treasury Department said it would freeze assets held by Abu Khalaf under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit U.S. citizens from doing business with him.

It said that as of January, Abu Khalaf was in charge of the Syria-based "foreign fighter facilitation network" formerly run by Abu Ghadiyah, another target of the U.S. Treasury.

"Previously, Abu Khalaf was reportedly second in charge of Islamic State of Iraq in Syria, a group formed by AQI (al Qaeda in Iraq) that has claimed responsibility for mass kidnappings and a series of major attacks," Treasury said.

The United States has taken similar action against a number of other people it accuses of supporting militants in the region.

(Reporting by Corbett B. Daly; Editing by Vicki Allen)