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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| U.S. Blacklists Usamah al-Shihabi as Global Terrorist |
| 2013-12-19 |
| [An Nahar] The United States on Wednesday blacklisted Fatah al-Islam A Syrian-incubated al-Qaeda work-alike that they think can be turned off if no longer needed to keep the Lebanon pot stirred. top member Osamah al-Shihabi as a "global terrorist." "The Department of State has designated Fatah al-Islam (FAI) associate Osamah Amin al-Shihabi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets faceless myrmidons and those providing support to faceless myrmidons or acts of terrorism," it said in a statement. "Al-Shihabi is an associate of FAI, a Lebanese-based hard boy group formed in 2006, whose ultimate goal is the institution of Islamist sharia law in the Paleostinian refugee camps and the destruction of Israel, and at times has played a key leadership role in the organization," the State Department added. Shihabi is wanted by Lebanese authorities on multiple arrest warrants. He has been described as the "emir of Fatah al-Islam" in the Ein el-Hellhole Paleostinian refugee camp. According to media reports, the hard boy shuttles between Ein el-Hellhole and Syria. In Its statement, the State Department said "he has also recently been appointed head of Syria-based al-Nusra Front's Paleostinian wing in Leb." Al-Nusra Front was formed by al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in late 2011 as a proxy for AQI's activities in Syria. On December 11, 2012, the State Department blacklisted al-Nusra as a foreign terrorist organization. The consequences of Wednesday's designation include a prohibition against U.S. persons engaging in transactions with al-Shihabi, and "the freezing of all property and interests in property of al-Shihabi that are in the United States, or come within the United States or the possession or control of U.S. persons." In August 2011, Shihabi was appointed as the "emir" of Fatah al-Islam in Leb, succeeding Abdul Rahman Awad, who was killed in an army ambush in the Bekaa in 2010. The Nahr al-Bared Paleostinian refugee camp in northern Leb was almost totally destroyed during a months-long conflict between the Lebanese army and the al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam in 2007. The fighting killed some 400 people, including 168 soldiers. Some Islamist leaders escaped despite the army siege of the camp. |
| Posted by:Fred |