Press Releases: State Department Terrorist Designations of Tarek Sakr and Farah Mohamed Shirdon
Media Note
The Department of State has designated Tarek Sakr and Farah Mohamed Shirdon as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a serious 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 Sakr and Shirdon, and all of their property and interests in property subject to United States jurisdiction is frozen.
Tarek Sakr is a Syrian-born Canadian citizen who has conducted sniper training in Syria and periodically travels to Turkey. Sakr has been linked to the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and SDGT al-Nusrah Front, al-Qa’ida’s affiliate in Syria.
Farah Mohamed Shirdon is a Canadian citizen who travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight with the FTO and SDGT the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Shirdon is a prominent ISIS fighter and recruiter and has also been involved in fundraising.
Today’s action notifies the U.S. public and the international community that Sakr and Shirdon are actively engaged in terrorism. Designations of terrorist individuals and groups 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.
Identifiers:
Name: Tarek Sakr
DOB: March 14, 1987
POB: Syria
Citizenship: Canada
Location: Syria and Turkey
Name: Farah Mohamed Shirdon
AKA: Farah Shirdon
AKA: Abu Usamah
AKA: Abu Usamah Somali
AKA: Abu Usama al Somali
AKA: Abu Usamah as-Somali
DOB: April 18, 1993
POB: Toronto, Canada
Nationality: Somali
Nationality: Canadian
Location: Raqqa, Syria as of November 2015