The United States has offered a reward of $10m (£6.3m) for information leading to the arrest of a man they say is a key al-Qaeda facilitator and financier.
Officials said Yasin al-Suri, also known as Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, was a Syrian national operating from Iran.The bounty aims to disrupt a financial network that, they said, had operated from within Iran’s borders since 2005.
The state department said it was the first time a “terrorist financier” has been targeted in such a way.”He is a dedicated terrorist working in support of al-Qaeda with the support of the government of Iran,” spokesman Robert Hartung said, according to the Associated Press.”As a key fundraiser for the al-Qaeda terrorist network, he is a continuing danger to the interests of the United States.”
He added that Mr Suri, operated under an agreement between al-Qaeda and the government of Iran, moving money and recruits through the country to the network in neighbouring countries – specifically Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.He was blacklisted along with five other members of his network by the US treasury department in July.
Mr Hartung said that, since 1984, the US Rewards for Justice programme has paid more than $100m to more than 70 people who provided credible information that either prevented attacks or helped bring those accused to justice. – BBC
