Washington D.C. [USA], June 24 (ANI): The US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program has increased the bounty – now up to USD10 million — for information leading to the identification or location of ISIS’s new leader Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahma al-Mawla. This represents a doubling of the previous reward of up to USD 5 million announced in August 2019.
Al-Mawla — also known as Hajji Abdallah and Abu-‘Umar al-Turkmani — succeeded Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the leader of ISIS following Baghdadi’s death during a US military operation in October 2019. Al-Mawla helped drive and justify the abduction, slaughter, and trafficking of members of Yazidi religious minority groups in northwest Iraq, and he oversees the group’s global operations.
Born in Mosul, Iraq, in 1976, al-Mawla was a religious scholar in ISIS’s predecessor organization, al-Qaida in Iraq, and steadily rose through the ranks of ISIS to become the deputy emir.
On March 18, 2020, the Department of State designated al-Mawla, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
As a result of this designation, US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with al-Mawla, and al-Mawla’s property and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction will be blocked. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide material support or resources to ISIS. (ANI)
Terrorist Designation of ISIS Leader Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla
The Department of State has announced its intent to designate Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, the new leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(a)(ii)(B) of Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886. Al-Mawla is also known as Hajji Abdallah, ‘Abdul Amir Muhammad Sa’id Salbi, and Abu-‘Umar al-Turkmani.
Following the death of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla succeeded him to become the leader of ISIS. Al-Mawla was active in ISIS’s predecessor organization, al-Qai’da in Iraq, and steadily rose through the ranks of ISIS to become the Deputy Amir. Al-Mawla helped drive and attempt to justify the abduction, slaughter, and trafficking of Yazidi religious minorities in northwest Iraq and oversees the group’s global operations.
As a result of this designation, U.S. persons will be generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with al-Mawla, and al-Mawla’s property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction will be blocked. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide material support or resources to ISIS, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and SDGT.
Today’s announcement is part of a larger comprehensive effort to defeat ISIS that, in coordination with the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, has made significant progress. We have completely destroyed ISIS’s so-called “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, and we are taking the fight to its branches and networks around the world. This whole-of-government effort is destroying ISIS in its safe havens, denying its ability to recruit foreign terrorist fighters, stifling its financial resources, countering the false propaganda it disseminates over the internet and social media, and helping to stabilize liberated areas in Iraq and Syria so the displaced can return to their homes and begin to rebuild their lives.
