The United States (U.S.) Department of State has designated three ISIS-affiliated groups – ISIS-West Africa, ISIS-Philippines and ISIS-Bangladesh – as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 and as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs) pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
As a result of these designations, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with ISIS-West Africa, ISIS-Philippines, or ISIS-Bangladesh. The groups’ property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to the organisations.
The Department has also designated four other ISIS-affiliated groups and two ISIS-affiliated leaders as SDGTs under Section 1(b) of E.O. 13224.
The groups are ISIS-Somalia, Jund al-Khilafah-Tunisia, ISIS-Egypt, and the Maute Group, and the individuals are Mahad Moalim and Abu Musab al-Barnawi.
The E.O. 13224 imposes strict sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the U.S.
In announcing these designations, Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan A. Sales emphasized that “these designations target key ISIS-affiliated groups and leaders outside its fallen caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Today’s actions are a critical step in degrading ISIS’s global network and denying its affiliates the resources they need to plan and carry out terrorist attacks.”
In March 2015, the leader of the FTO and SDGT group Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS and changed the group’s name to ISIS-West Africa. ISIS accepted the pledge of allegiance. In August 2016, ISIS-West Africa split into two factions, due to infighting. ISIS appointed Abu Musab al-Barnawi as leader of ISIS-West Africa; the other faction, which remained loyal to longtime leader Abubakar Shekau, reverted to the previous Boko Haram name. Al-Barnawi is the son of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf. Prior to his appointment as leader of ISIS-West Africa, al-Barnawi was the spokesperson for Boko Haram. Under his leadership, ISIS-West Africa has carried out numerous attacks in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.
