US Designates MB-Affiliated Hasm, IS-Sinai as Terrorist Organizations

The US Department of State designated, on Thursday, "HASM," and “Wilayat Sinai" as Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The Department said in a statement that it had included a number of people on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, most notably Yahya al-Sayyid Ibrahim Musa and Alaa Ali Ali Mohammed al-Samahi, as they were leaders in the "HASM" organization.

This move aimed at depriving HASM's leadership from the resources, which help them plan and carry out terrorist attacks.

Furthermore, all Musa's and Al-Samahi’s property and interests, that come within the United States or the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

Any attempt or conspire to provide material support or resources to HASM is considered a federal crime, being a designated FTO.

Al-Samahi and Musa are currently in Turkey; they were accused in several cases in Egypt, including the formation of a terrorist organization and the assassination of the former Public Prosecutor.

HASM was previously designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 in January 2018 for posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism.

“Wilayat Sinai,” which was previously called “Ansar Bait al-Maqdis,” has also carried out several terrorist operations in the Sinai Peninsula, most of them targeted the police and the army.