The US Department of State has designated Al-Shabaab deputy leader Abukar Ali Adan and two others Muhammad al-Ghazali, and Wanas al-Faqih as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.
These designations impose strict sanctions on foreign individuals with a cause, committed or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.
These designations further prompt all of their property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction to be blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.
In a statement the Department of State outlined the three individuals having links with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Shabaab, and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), all of which have been designated by the United States as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
According to the statement, Al-Ghazali is a senior member of AQAP who is involved in internal security and training of the group’s operatives.
Abukar Ali Adan is deputy leader of Al-Shabaab, Somallia while Wanas al-Faqih is an AQIM associate who planned the March 18, 2015 Bardo Museum attack in Tunis, Tunisia that killed at least 20 people.
The designation are aimed at notifying the U.S. public and the international community that Muhammad al-Ghazali, Wanas al-Faqih, and Abukar Ali Adan have committed acts of terrorism and as thus cautioned not to have links, conduct transactions with them.
