Turkey freezes assets of al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan

ANKARA

Turkey has frozen the assets of senior al-Qaeda figure Nayef Salam Muhammad Ujaym al-Hababi in line with a decision by the U.N. Security Council, the government said in a decision published in the Official Gazette on May 5.

According to the Official Gazette, the name of al-Hababi was added to “the list of individuals affiliated with DEASH [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL] and Al-Qaeda.”

On March 28, the United Nations Security Council’s “ISIL and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee” added al-Hababi to its sanctions list.

Al-Hababi has operated in Afghanistan since at least 2009 and was serving as the al-Qaeda emir for the eastern zone of Afghanistan as of 2015, the U.S. Treasury Department said in February, while naming him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.

The Treasury Department said at the time it targeted al-Hababi for his activities for or on behalf of al-Qaeda as the al-Qaeda emir for the eastern zone of Afghanistan reporting to al-Qaeda’s senior leadership. In this key leadership role, al-Hababi was responsible for planning attacks against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, contributing to al-Qaeda’s external operations planning and fundraising on al-Qaeda’s behalf, the Treasury Department said.