DUSHANBE, November 19, 2015, Asia-Plus — The United States has issued a US$ 5 million reward for information leading to the capture of a Saudi-born jihadist accused of smuggling foreign fighters into Syria.
The U.S. State Department said on November 18 that Tirad al-Jarba, better known as Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali, a key leader of the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has facilitated travel from Turkey to Syria of prospective Islamic State fighters from Australia, Europe and the Middle East.
According to the U.S. Department of State, senior ISIL Border Chief Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali has been associated with ISIL, formerly known as al-Qaida in Iraq, since 2005. He now serves as a key leader in ISIL’s Immigration and Logistics Committee, and is responsible for facilitating the travel of foreign terrorist fighters primarily through Gaziantep, Turkey, and onward to the ISIL-controlled border town of Jarabulus, Syria.
Al-Shimali and the ISIL Immigration and Logistics Committee reportedly coordinate smuggling activities, financial transfers, and the movement of supplies into Syria and Iraq from Europe, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. In 2014, al-Shimali facilitated the travel from Turkey to Syria of prospective ISIL fighters from Australia, Europe, and the Middle East, and managed ISIL’s processing center for new recruits in Azaz, Syria.
On September 29, 2015, al-Shimali was placed the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list for acting for or on behalf of ISIL. The designation blocks his financial assets and prohibits U.S. persons and financial institutions from dealing with him. On the same day, he was also listed on the United Nations Security Council 1267/1989 (Al-Qaida) Sanctions List, which imposes a travel ban, asset freeze, and arms embargo on al-Shimali.
The Rewards for Justice program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $125 million to more than 80 individuals who provided actionable information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide.
