Türkiye, US freeze assets of 2 terror financiers

BEIRUT

Türkiye and the United States have slapped sanctions on two people believed to have raised money for two extremist groups operating in Syria, the countries have announced.

The announcement followed another joint move by Washington and Ankara four months ago, when they sanctioned a network of people and companies accused of helping deliver funds to ISIL.

One of the two sanctioned people was identified as Omar al-Sheak. He is suspected of assisting in the financing of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a key al-Qaida-linked group in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

The other, said to be based in Türkiye and identified as Kubilay Sarı, is said to have helped finance Katibat al-Tawhid wal al-Jihad, a jihadi group that also operates in Idlib.

Turkish authorities are freezing al-Sheak and Sarı’s assets that are subject to Turkish jurisdiction. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Ankara “will continue to take effective steps on countering terrorism, financing, and cooperate with its international partners on the issue.”

“As terrorist groups continue to seek access to the international financial system, collaboration with our partners increases our ability to more effectively disrupt these facilitation networks,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in the statement.

Nelson added that Washington will continue working with Türkiye and other countries in the region to “disrupt the flow of funds to terrorist groups and to degrade their capacity to operate.”