OFAC Sanctions al-Qaida Leaders

The State Department sanctioned five al-Qaida leaders and added them to the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List, the agency said Jan. 12. The sanctions target Iran-based Muhammad Abbatay and Sultan Yusuf Hasan al-'Arif. Also sanctioned were the leaders of the al-Qaida Kurdish Battalions, an al-Qaida-linked group that operates on the Iran-Iraq border: Isma’il Fu’ad Rasul Ahmed, Fuad Ahmad Nuri Ali al-Shakhan and Niamat Hama Rahim Hama Sharif.