Washington: The United States has slapped sanctions on three Pakistan-based "terrorist facilitators" for helping the Taliban and other militant groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, including one man linked to a failed car bomb attack in New York in 2010.
Announcing the sanctions, the US Department of the Treasury identified the three men as Maulawi Adam Khan Achekzai, Aamir Ali Chaudhry, and Qari Ayyub Bashir. Sanctions have been imposed on them for "providing material, logistical, or financial support to the Taliban, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), respectively.
Adam and Chaudhry have been involved in the production of improvised and other explosive devices, while Bashir coordinated financial support for IMU operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Treasury Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Today's actions are intended to disrupt the activities of three individuals working to carry out violent attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan that threaten the lives of civilians and military forces," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said.
"As these designations demonstrate, we will continue to work to dismantle the terrorist support networks operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, paying special attention to those involved in the manufacture of IEDs," he said.
The sanctions ban the three men's access to US business and financial services, forbidding American nationals individuals or companies from any transactions with them.
The Treasury Department identified Adam as an improvised explosive device (IED) manufacturer and facilitator for the Taliban. Furthermore, as of 2012, Adam constructed IEDs and trained approximately 150 IED makers in support of the Taliban.
It identified Chaudhry as a TTP operative who has served as an electronics and explosives expert for TTP. As of early 2010, Chaudhry advised a TTP facilitator on fertilizer selection for the bomb used in the failed May 2010 attack in New York's Times Square, the statement said.
US authorities arrested Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American for attempting to set off a car bomb at Times Square on May 1, 2010. He was sentenced to life in prison on October 5, 2010.
Bashir was identified as the head of finance for the IMU and, as of early 2010, was a member of the IMU leadership council, or shura. Between 2009 and 2011, Bashir coordinated financial support for IMU operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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