Treasury targets Iran-backed al Qaeda network

The US Treasury Department on Thursday named six members that it said were members of an al Qaeda group operating with Iranian support and banned Americans from any dealing with them. Treasury said the group was headed by Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil and described him as "a prominent Iran-based al Qaeda facilitator" operating under agreement with the Iranian government.
It said the network served as a pipeline for al Qaeda to move money and operatives across the Middle East to South Asia, including into Pakistan. Treasury said that, as a result of its targeting the network, US citizens were prohibited from financial transactions with its members and any of its assets that were discovered within US jurisdiction were subject to seizure.