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WASHINGTON: US officials on Wednesday imposed financial sanctions on three al Qaeda leaders based in Pakistan, including the militant network's Libya-born propaganda chief, Abu Yahya al-Libi.
The two others named by the US Treasury Department were Younis al-Mauritani, who was arrested in Pakistan on Monday, and Mustafa Hajji Muhammad Khan, who was identified by Treasury as a logistical supporter of al Qaeda.
“We are targeting two of al Qaeda's top strategists and commanders in Pakistan, as well as a senior facilitator, striking at the heart of al Qaeda's remaining leadership and its operations in Pakistan,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said in a statement.
The sanctions bar US citizens from doing business with the al Qaeda chiefs and freeze any assets that they may hold under US jurisdiction.
Libi, who is one of al Qaeda's most visible figures through his repeated propaganda messages, called for attacks against the the United States and Britian in 2009, according to SITE, a US jihadist-monitoring website.
Mauritani became head of al Qaeda's external operations in mid-2010, after earlier helping created the affiliate group Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Treasury Department said.
The Mauritania-born militant was arrested in the suburbs of Quetta, Pakistan announced on Monday. The Pakistani army accused him of plotting attacks on economic targets in the United States, Europe and Australia.
Earlier on Wednesday, a pair of suicide bombers killed at least 24 people in Quetta. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility and said the attacks were revenge for the arrests of Al-Mauritani and two other militants.
Khan, the third individual targeted with the US sanctions, is an al Qaeda facilitator, courier and operative who moved people and money from Gulf countries to Pakistan for the militant network, the Treasury said.
