Admin l Wednesday, May 10, 2017
WASHINGTON, United States – The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, leader of the al-Nusrah Front (ANF) terrorist group.
In a statement, from Office of Spokesperson, the department said this is the first Rewards for Justice reward offer for a leader of al-Nusrah Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaida.
The statement added that in April 2013, al-Jawlani pledged allegiance to al-Qaida. and its leader Ayman al-Zawahiri after he had a public falling out with ISIS.
“In July 2016, in a video posted online, al-Jawlani praised al-Qaida. and al-Zawahiri and claimed the ANF was changing its name to Jabhat Fath Al Sham (“Conquest of the Levant Front”).
“In May 2013, the U.S. Department of State, under the authority of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, named al-Jawlani a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, blocking all his property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting U.S. persons from dealing with him. On July 24, 2013, the UN Security Council ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida. Sanctions Committee placed al-Jawlani on its list of sanctioned terrorists, making him subject to an international asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo”, the statement added.
It noted that under al-Jawlani’s leadership, ANF has carried out multiple terrorist attacks throughout Syria, often targeting civilians.
“In April 2015, ANF reportedly kidnapped, and later released, approximately 300 Kurdish civilians from a checkpoint in Syria. In June 2015, ANF claimed responsibility for the massacre of 20 residents in the Druze village Qalb Lawzeh in Idlib province, Syria.
“In January 2017, ANF merged with several other hardline opposition groups to form Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). ANF remains al-Qaida. ’s affiliate in Syria. Jawlani is not the leader of HTS, but remains the leader of ANF, which is at the core of HTS.
“ANF has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity under E.O. 13224. The UN Security Council ISIL (Da’esh) and al-Qaida. Sanctions Committee has also added ANF to its sanctions list”, the statement said.
