US Places Somali Militant on Official List of Terrorists

VOA News
03 Jun 2004, 22:41 UTC

The United States has added a Somali militant to its list of individuals officially regarded as terrorists.
Secretary of State Colin Powell placed Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki on the list Thursday. The action freezes his U.S. assets and bans most transactions between him and U.S. citizens and residents.

The list includes those who are believed to have carried out or pose a significant risk of launching terrorist attacks that threaten U.S. citizens, national security or the economy.

The State Department says it plans to ask the United Nations to also add Mr. al-Turki to its list of sanctioned terrorists. This would freeze his assets in U.N. members states and place him under an arms embargo and travel ban.

Mr. al-Turki, also known as Hassan Turki, heads Somalia's Islamic extremist group al-Itihaad al-Islamiya. The State Department says the group has links to al-Qaida and has provided support for acts of terrorism.

President Bush named the group as a terrorist organization just weeks after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.