US designates LeT commander as terrorist

WASHINGTON: The US State Department named another Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member and senior commander a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on Tuesday.

The announcement seeks to deny the long-term LeT member, Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. The statement issued after the announcement says that al-Dakhil was an operational leader for LeT's attacks in India between 1997 and 2001. It further says that al-Dakhil was captured in 2004 in Iraq by UK forces, then held in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan until his transfer to Pakistan in 2014.

"After his release from Pakistani custody, Dakhil returned to work for LeT. In 2016, Dakhil was the LeT divisional commander for the Jammu region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. As of early 2018, Dakhil remained a senior commander in LeT," the statement said.

The department designated al-Dakhil as a SDGT under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons who have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of the US nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the US. Among other consequences, all of his property and interests subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transaction with him. The action notified the US public and the international community that al-Dakhil has committed, or posed a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.