US puts LeT's Abdul Rehman on list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist

The US today designated LeT commander Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil, who till recently was LeT's divisional commander for the Jammu region, as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist".

A longtime member of the US designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Lashkar e-Taiba (LeT), Dakhil was an operational leader for LeT's attacks in India between 1997 and 2001.

In 2004, Dakhil was captured in Iraq by UK forces, then held in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan until his transfer to Pakistan in 2014.

After his release from Pakistani custody, Dakhil returned to work for the LeT.

In 2016, Dakhil was the LeT divisional commander for the Jammu region.

As of early 2018, Dakhil remained a senior commander in the LeT.

The designation seek to deny Dakhil the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, the State Department said in a statement.

Among other consequences, all of his property and interests subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.

"Today's action notifies the US public and the international community that Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil has committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism," the State Department said.

Designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate organisations and individuals, and deny them access to the US financial system, it added.