Washington: The United States (US) State Department on Thursday added Ansar-al-Sharia, an offshoot of global terror network, to its list of terror organizations.
According to the state department, the group has been added to the list as it was an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
“AAS is simply AQAP’s effort to rebrand itself, with the aim of manipulating people to join AQAP’s terrorist cause,” the State Department said in a statement.
Inclusion on the terror list means that Americans face “a prohibition against knowingly providing material support or resources to, or engaging in transactions with, Ansar al-Sharia,” the statement said.
It added that any property or assets held by the group in the United States are subject to seizure.
The US statement said that AAS has taken responsibility for multiple attacks against Yemeni forces, including a May 2012 suicide bombing that killed more than 100 Yemeni soldiers.
AQAP was founded in January 2009 when the Saudi and Yemen branches of the jihadist network merged.
The group is led by Nasser al-Wahishi, who affirmed his allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in July 2011, following Osama bin Laden’s killing in Pakistan by US special forces.
It is to be mentioned that the group seized swathes of territory in the southern Yemen, implementing Sharia law.
Later, the Yemini troops recaptured the territories held by Ansar-al-Sharia and forced militants to hide in the mountainous regions where they reside before an uprising against ex-Yemini president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The militants were also blamed for carrying out deadly suicide attacks inside Sanaa, capital of Yemen, and other cities, targeting military and government officials.
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