US State Department designates 5 more ISIS-Mozambique ultras to global terrorist list

The US Department of State announced the addition of five Islamist terrorists to its Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) list on Friday, August 6. The names added to the list were Bonomade Machude Omar, Sidan ag Hitta, Salem ould Breihmatt, Ali Mohamed Rage, and Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir. According to an official release, Bonomade Machude Omar, aka Abu Sulayfa Muhammad and Ibn Omar, lead the Military and External Affairs Departments for ISIS-Mozambique and serve as the senior commander and lead coordinator for all attacks conducted by the group in northern Mozambique. Omar has been responsible for attacks on the Amarula Hotel in Palma, Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, and Mtwara Region, Tanzania. 

All five involved in the recent attacks: US State Department

Another extremist, Sidanag Hitta, aka Abu Qarwaniand Abu Abdelhakim al-Kidali, is a senior leader and the commander responsible for the Kidal Region in Mali within Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM). Hitta was among the group responsible for January 20, 2019, attack on the MINUSMA base in Aguelhoc, Kidal Region, Mali. He was also responsible for hostages in the Kidal Region. While the US administration informed that Ali Mohamed Rage aka Ali Dheere, is al-Shabaab’s spokesman and a senior leader of the group. He has been involved in attack planning that has targeted areas in Kenya and Somalia. Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, aka Ikrima, is a facilitator and operational planner. He was an al-Shabaab senior leader and served as the Head of Operations and Logistics.  

The US State department further named Salem ould Breihmatt, also known as Abu Hamza al-Shanqitiand Hamza al-Mauritani, is a JNIM senior leader. He is also charged with the oversight of JNIM in Burkina Faso and is an explosives expert and instructor. The authorities said all properties of these individuals will be blocked and reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). It also warned the persons whosoever engaged with these designated terrorists would expose themselves to be designated in the Global terrorist list. Furthermore, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant financial transaction or provides financial services to the persons designated today could be subject to U.S. correspondent account or payable-through account sanctions, added the release.

(With inputs from US State Dept release)

Image: AP