FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

April 30, 2004
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Terrorist Kidnappers Designated by Treasury
Captors Boast Ties to al Qaida

The U.S. is taking action today in support of Germany’s decision to designate the individuals and submit their names to the United Nations (U.N.) 1267 Sanctions Committee to be  added to the Consolidated List of individuals and entities designated due to their affiliation with Usama bin Laden, al Qaida and the Taliban.. 

“Terrorists continue to use all means and methods to threaten the safety of the citizens of the world – regardless of their nationality, race or religion,” said Juan Zarate, the Treasury Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Executive Office for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes. 

“Our action today to designate these kidnapping thugs, in support of the German notification to the United Nations, is part of the ongoing global commitment to combat terrorism.  Our success in the financial war on terror will continue to depend on the diligence, aggressiveness and cooperation of our international partners,” Zarate continued.

The kidnappings, which took place in south-east Algeria, included sixteen Germans, ten Austrians, four Swiss, one Dutch and one Swede who was born and currently resides in Germany.  In May 2003, Algerian armed forces freed 17 tourists being held hostage by the GSPC.  After negotiations led by representatives of the Government of Mali and with the participation of representatives of the German Federal Government, the remaining hostages were released in August of that year.  While in captivity, one of the hostages died of heatstroke. 

The individuals being designated today, Kamel Djermane, Ahmad Zerfaoui, Dhou El-Aich and Hacene Allane, are considered to be part of subgroups of the Tarek Ibn Ziad group.  These subgroups, Thabet and Adel, were involved in the GSPC kidnappings.

Kamel Djermane – According to information, Dejermane is a member of the intermediate leadership of the Tarek Ibn Ziad group.

Ahmad Zerfaoui – Information concludes that Zerfaoui, as the leader of a Tarek Ibn Ziad subgroup, was responsible for the kidnapping of the first group of tourists that were taken hostage in February of 2003.

Dhou El-Aich – Particular information concluded that El-Aich was a leader of the Thabet subgroup of the Tarek Ibn Ziad group.

Hacene Allane – Accusations conclude that Allane belonged to the intermediate leadership of the Adel subgroup of the Tarek Ibn Ziad group and that he acted as a communicator between the kidnappers and the hostages.

Saifi AMMARI, the individual mainly responsible for the kidnappings, was designated by the Treasury Department on December 5, 2003 and was added to the U.N.’s Consolidated List.  GSPC was previously designated by the U.S. as a specially designated global terrorist and has been on the list of the U.N.’s al Qaida/Taliban Sanctions Committee since October 6, 2001.

Executive Order 13224 provides means to disrupt the support network for terrorism.  Under this order, the United States government may block the assets of individuals and entities providing support – financial or otherwise – to designated terrorists and terrorist organizations, who act for or on the behalf of designated terrorists or who are otherwise associated with designated terrorists.  Blocking actions are critical to combating the financing of terrorism. 

When a blocking action is put into place, any assets that exist in the formal financial system at the time of the orders are frozen and any future transactions through the formal financial system are restricted.  Blocking actions serve additional functions as well,  including serving as a deterrent for non-designated parties who might otherwise be willing to finance terrorist activity; exposing  terrorist financing “money trails” that may generate leads to previously unknown terrorist cells and financiers; disrupting  terrorist financing networks by encouraging designated terrorist supporters to disassociate themselves from terrorist activity and renounce their affiliation with terrorist groups; terminating  terrorist cash flows by shutting down the pipelines used to move terrorist-related assets; forcing  terrorists  to use alternative, more costly and higher-risk means of financing their activities; and engendering  international cooperation and compliance with obligations under U.N. Security Council Resolutions.

With today’s action, the U.S. and our international partners have designated 365 individuals and organizations as terrorists and terrorist supporters and have frozen approximately $139 million and seized more than $60 million in terrorist-related assets.