US sanctions three individuals working for IS

The US Treasury Department on Thursday blacklisted three individuals working for the Islamic State group, in an effort to attack its finances and disrupt its ability to profit from illicit oil sales.

The move targets senior IS oil official Faysal al-Zahrani, foreign fighter facilitator Husayn Juaythini, and senior IS official Turki al-Binali, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

As a result of the designations, any property or interest in property of the individuals within US jurisdiction is frozen. Transactions by US persons involving the designated individuals are also generally prohibited.

"Treasury and our partners worldwide are aggressively targeting IS's ability to earn and make use of its money, and we are making progress on many fronts," said Adam Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, using an alternate acronym for the extremist group.

"Today's action targets key IS leadership figures responsible for oil and gas production, foreign terrorist fighter recruitment and facilitation, and other financial facilitation," Szubin said.

The designations came in advance of the first-ever joint session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL's Counter ISIL Finance Group (CIFG), which is taking place on Feb. 14 in Paris.