By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) – The EU on Monday added one more person and an entity to its sanctions list targeting the terrorist groups Daesh/ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
“The (European) Council decided today to add Mohamed Ibrahim al-Shafi’i Al-Salem, also known as Aba Al-Sahraoui, and Katiba Macina to the EU autonomous list of persons, groups, undertakings and entities associated with ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda, subject to EU restrictive measures,” the council said in a statement.
The statement said Aba Al-Sahraoui is the leader of the ISIS/Daesh-affiliated group ISIS Sahel in the Northwestern/Central African region while Katiba Macina is an affiliate of Al-Qaeda and its associated group Jama’a Nusrat Ul-Islam Wa Al-Muslimin (JNIM), which is also active in the Sahel.
“Today's decision reconfirms the EU's resolve in countering the continued terrorist threat posed by Al-Qaeda, ISIL/Da'esh and their regional affiliates,” the council said.
ISIS/Daesh has been implicated in last Friday’s attack in Moscow, which killed some 137 people and injured 180.