US Sanctions 5 Aides Supporting Al-Qaeda Activities in Turkey

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The U.S. Biden administration has imposed sanctions on five individuals who assisted the extremist terrorist organization Al-Qaeda in Turkey. The U.S. government designated Al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

According to overseas media on the 17th, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced in a statement the previous day that it had added five individuals linked to the Al-Qaeda network in Turkey to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Two are Egyptian nationals, and three are Turkish nationals.

The Treasury Department stated that these individuals provided financial and logistical support to Al-Qaeda. Among them, Mazdi Salim, an Egypt-born Turkish lawyer, served as a former leader of the Islamic Jihad and acted as a financial envoy.

The three Turkish nationals are accused of facilitating Al-Qaeda’s network throughout Turkey and neighboring Syria. The Treasury pointed out that two of them maintained contact with Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership and were responsible for providing material support.

Amid the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years last month, concerns about the resurgence of Al-Qaeda are growing within the United States.