Media Note
The Department of State has designated Marwan Ibrahim Hussayn Tah al-Azawi and Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI) as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons determined to 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. As a consequence of these designations, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions or dealings with Azawi and MMI, and all of their property and interests in property subject to United States jurisdiction are frozen. In addition to the State Department designations, the Department of the Treasury also designated Attallah Salman ‘Abd Kafi al-Jaburi, an Iraq-based, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) senior leader in charge of factories producing improvised explosive devices, vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, and explosives, and involved in the development of chemical weapons, as an SDGT under E.O. 13224.
Marwan Ibrahim Hussayn Tah al-Azawi is an Iraqi ISIS leader connected to ISIS’s development of chemical weapons for use in ongoing combat against Iraqi Security Forces. ISIS has repeatedly used sulfur mustard in chemical weapons attacks in Syria as well as in Iraq.
Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI) is an Indonesia-based terrorist group formed in 2000 by Abu Bakar Bashir, leader of the designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and SDGT group, Jemaah Islamiya (JI). The group has conducted attacks in Indonesia, including claiming responsibility for a May 2012 attack at the book launch of Canadian author Irshad Manji; the attack left three attendees hospitalized. MMI also has links to al-Qa’ida’s affiliate in Syria, the FTO and SDGT group al-Nusrah Front.
Today’s action notifies the U.S. public and the international community that Azawi and MMI have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism. Designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and result in denial of access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and other governments.
A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/index.htm.
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