State Department adds two men to global list of terrorists
The State Department has added two individuals to the global list of terrorists -- the first additions to the list under the Trump administration.
Ahmad Hasan Yusuf and Alsayed Murtadha Majeed Ramadhan Alawi were both born in Bahrain and are affiliated with the al-Ashtar Brigades (AAB), a primarily Shiite opposition group that carries out attacks in Gulf countries with a primary focus on Bahrain.
“Today’s actions follow a recent increase in militant attacks in Bahrain, where Iran has provided weapons, funding, and training to militants,” explained the State Department in a media alert. “This marks yet another step in our continued effort to aggressively target Iran’s destabilizing and terrorism-related activities in the region.”
Both in their 30s, these men will face sanctions, which prevent access to the U.S, financial system. U.S. citizens are now also prohibited from any financial transactions with Yusuf and Alwali. Yusuf is an Iran-based AAB senior member and Alawi is affiliated with the Bahrain-based arm of the group.
The AAB funding itself comes from the Government of Iran, according to the State Department, and the group has committed attacks that have resulted in casualties. One example is a car bombing carried out in 2014 that killed two police officers and a UAE officer.
Last year. there were 51 groups and individuals added to the Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) list. The framework of the SDGT, which designates foreign individuals and groups as terrorists, was created two weeks after 9/11.
These designations of Bahraini terrorists come while US government simultaneously is coming under scrutiny for considering a new round of arms sales to Bahrain, which has committed numerous human rights violations. The sale of F-16s to the island nation was held up by Obama administration because the government would not agree to a set of human rights concessions.