Press Releases: State Department Terrorist Designation of Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil
Media Note
The Department of State has designated Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons who have 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. Today’s designations seek to deny Dakhil the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. Among other consequences, all of his property and interests subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.
Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil is a longtime member of the U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and SDGT Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT) and was an operational leader for LeT’s attacks in India between 1997 and 2001. In 2004, Dakhil was captured in Iraq by UK forces, then held in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan until his transfer to Pakistan in 2014. After his release from Pakistani custody, Dakhil returned to work for LeT. In 2016, Dakhil was the LeT divisional commander for the Jammu region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. As of early 2018, Dakhil remained a senior commander in LeT.
Today’s action notifies the U.S. public and the international community that Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil has committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism. Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other nations. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to a designated FTO.
A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/index.htm.