On Thursday, the United States added three more Islamic State (IS) affiliates to its growing list of designated terrorist organizations and the move means that an assessment of these groups deems them to be a significant danger by their actions.
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The IS affiliates in Yemen, Libya, and Saudi Arabia were put on the terrorist list and moved from being recognized as “sympathizers” in the past to active militants engaging in terrorism across the Middle East, primarily in Syria and Iraq. The State Department, along with the Justice and Treasury Departments, also placed these affiliates on the global list of terrorists that in essence will allow the Obama administration to sanction anyone who provides any type of support to these terrorist groups thus resulting in the freezing of assets, bank accounts, or any other tangible interests they have vested in the U.S.
All three affiliates of the Sunni terrorist group have carried out deadly attacks in their countries. IS in Saudi Arabia has staged attacks on Shiite mosques in the Kingdom and in Kuwait, killing more than 50 people. IS in Yemen claimed responsibility for suicide bombings on mosques there that killed more than 120. And IS in Libya, which has attacked on government and civilian targets, staged a highly publicized kidnapping and execution of 21 Egyptian Christians. The announcement brings the total number of IS affiliates named as designated terrorist organizations to eight, including affiliates in Algeria, the Sinai, Syria, the Caucauses and Africa.
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