Admin l Wednesday, June 02, 2021
WASHINGTON – The United States today placed $7 million on information leading to the location or identification of Abu Ubaydah Yusuf al-Anabi, the leader of the terrorist organization al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
In a statement, the Department of State said in November 2020, AQIM announced al-Anabi, an Algerian citizen also known as Yazid Mubarak, as the group’s new leader after AQIM’s previous and first emir, Abdelmalek Droukdel, was killed in June 2020. Al-Anabi, the department stated has pledged allegiance to al-Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri on AQIM’s behalf and is expected to play a role in al-Qa’ida’s global management as Droukdel had done.
The statement continued that Al-Anabi was previously the leader of AQIM’s Council of Notables and served on AQIM’s Shura Council. “Al-Anabi has also served as AQIM’s Media Chief”, the department said.
On September 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Anabi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. On February 29, 2016 and he was placed on the United Nations (UNSCR 1267) sanctions list.
The statement said AQIM is responsible for the abduction and killing of Americans. AQIM, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on September 23, 2001. “The U.S. Department of State designated the group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on March 27, 2002. In September 2006, GSPC officially joined al-Qa’ida’s terrorist network and re-branded itself as AQIM”.
The Rewards for Justice Program is an effective law enforcement tool. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $200 million to more than 200 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide.
