US designates Egyptian militant leader as global terrorist

The United States today blacklisted al-Qaeda-linked Egyptian Islamist militant leader Muhammad Jamal as a global terrorist, accusing him of setting up training camps for suicide bombers in Egypt and Libya.
Jamal, who formed the Muhammad Jamal Network after his release from an Egyptian jail in 2011, has established several terrorist training camps in both the north African countries.
"Suicide bombers have been trained at MJN training camps, and Jamal established links with terrorists in Europe," the US State Department said in a statement.
The Al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has provided funding to Jamal, who used the global terror network to smuggle fighters into his training camps.

After his release in 2011, Jamal was re-arrested by Egyptian authorities in November 2012.
His confiscated computer contained letters to al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri seeking assistance from him.

In the letters, Jamal described MJN's activities, including acquiring weapons, conducting terrorist training, and establishing terror groups in the Sinai peninsula.
According to the State Department, Jamal travelled to Afghanistan in the late 1980s where he received training from al-Qaeda commanders.
Upon returning to Egypt in the 1990s, Jamal became a top militant commander and head of the operational wing of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, then headed by al-Zawahiri.
Jamal has been arrested multiple times by Egyptian authorities for terrorist activities and was incarcerated for years in Egypt.

He has also developed connections with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the State Department said.