IS branches in Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia added to US terror list

Washington: The United States has added the Islamic State group's branches in Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia to its global terrorism blacklist, the State Department announced Thursday.

The three IS branches were declared "specially designated global terrorists," which imposes sanctions and penalties on foreign persons who pose a serious risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten US nationals or national security.

The IS group in Libya also was named as a "foreign terrorist organization."

The designations freeze any US assets the groups may have and bans knowingly providing them or conspiring to provide them with material support or resources.

The State Department said the three groups emerged as IS branches in November 2014 when IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced he had accepted oaths of allegiance from fighters in Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

It said all three have carried out numerous deadly attacks.

Separately, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against six men it accused of providing financial support to terrorist groups.

It said the move was aimed at disrupting the fundraising and support networks of Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and ISIL, another name for Islamic State.

The sanctions targets "financiers and facilitators responsible for moving money, weapons, and people on behalf of these terrorist organizations," said Adam Szubin, the Treasury's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial Intelligence.