The Treasury Department on Thursday designated veteran jihadist Muthanna Harith al-Dari for providing support to Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) - a terrorist group fighting to sabotage democratic elections in that country, where more than 90,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed.
The designation occurred under Executive Order 13224, which freezes assets of terror supporters living under U.S. jurisdiction and bars U.S. persons from "engaging in any transactions with those individuals."
Also on Thursday, the United Nations 1267 Committee (which is responsible with overseeing international sanctions on Al Qaeda and Taliban supporters around the world) announced it is adding al-Dari to its target list.
Treasury "is pleased to have partnered with the Government of Iraq to list al-Dari at the UN's 1267 Committee today, and we will continue our aggressive efforts to isolate those terrorist actors and networks that seek to threaten the stability of Iraq," said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey.
Al-Dari, who is thought to divide his time between Iraq and Jordan, provides "operational guidance for attacks against Iraqi Forces and Coalition Forces in Iraq," according to Treasury.
As of August 2008, al-Dari sought to reinvigorate Iraq's terrorist insurgency by providing training to any insurgent group fighting coalition forces. He attended training meetings in Syria that were conducted by Al Qaeda in Iraq, during which he described the organization's attack plans to jihadist trainees.
As of October 2008, al-Dasri "provided $1 million to an AQI member who actively recruits Iraqis in Syria and al-Anbar province to support AQI, instructing the recruiter to tell new AQI recruits that they would be paid up to $10,000 upon completion of their training in Syria," according to the Treasury Department. "Additionally, as of 2008, al-Dari financed an AQI cell that called for fighting against the Iraqi Army and Multinational Forces-Iraq."
In another instance, al-Dari "provided funding to an improvised explosive device (IED) cell leader in order to conduct IED operations targeting Coalition Forces along a highway."