WASHINGTON — The US Treasury Department coordinated with the government of Turkey to impose sanctions Tuesday on two men accused of serving as financial facilitators for terrorist groups in Syria’s opposition-controlled northwest.
The Treasury action targets members of US-designated terrorist groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (KTJ). The hard-line groups operate in northwest Syria, an impoverished part of the country that is home to a number of rival opposition groups and remains outside the control of the Syrian government.
Added to the US sanctions list was Omar Alsheak, who the Treasury Department said has held various leadership roles in HTS and currently serves as a Shura Council member, emir of the HTS’ Aleppo army and supervisor of its economic portfolio abroad. Al-Qaeda-derived HTS wrested control of Idlib from its more moderate rivals in January 2019 and remains the northwest province’s de facto administrative authority.
Also blacklisted on Tuesday was Istanbul-based Kubilay Sari, who KTJ members reportedly said acted as their conduit for financial transfers. According to the Treasury Department, Sari received funds in Turkey “from donors on behalf of KTJ fundraisers for the purchase of weapons systems such as firearms and mortars.”
