US slaps sanction on Sunni leader for giving money, support to al-Qaida

US slaps sanctions on Sunni linked to al-Qaida

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Thursday imposed new sanctions on a Sunni leader in Iraq believed to be connected to al-Qaida.

The Treasury Department said it is freezing the assets in U.S. jurisdictions of Muthanna Harith al-Dhari, 40, for allegedly providing financial and technological support to al-Qaida in Iraq and providing guidance for attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces.

At the same time, the United Nations added al-Dhari, who has led the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars, to its list of individuals and entities associated with Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The U.S. has accused al-Dhari, who is believed to be living in Jordan, of ordering the kidnappings of foreigners and directing an October 2006 plot to bring bombs into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone as part of an effort to assassinate the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and the U.S. and British ambassadors.

According to the Treasury, al-Dhari provided $1 million to an al-Qaida member who actively recruits Iraqis in Syria and in Iraq’s Anbar province to support the terror group, saying that new recruits would be paid up to $10,000 upon completion of their training in Syria.

“We will continue our aggressive efforts to isolate those terrorist actors and networks that seek to threaten the stability of Iraq,” said Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

On the Net:

Treasury Department: www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/actions