U.S. puts al-Zarqawi's group on terror list
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department has designated Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Unification and Jihad group a "foreign terrorist organization."
"This is the organization run by Mr. al-Zarqawi that has carried out so many horrible attacks in Iraq and elsewhere, trying to foment civil war and trying to hold back the progress of the Iraqi people," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
Boucher said the United States is working with Britain and Iraq to have a similar "designation under the U.N. Sanctions Committee, U.N. Resolution 1267."
The U.S. designation, published in the Federal Register, includes a travel ban and a freeze on any assets in U.S. banks.
Boucher said the designation makes it illegal under U.S. law for persons in the United States or subject to our jurisdiction to knowingly provide material support to the group.
The group also has been listed as a specially designated global terrorist organization under an existing presidential order.
Al-Zarqawi's terror network is responsible for beheadings and terror attacks.
U.S.-led forces are conducting strikes in the Iraqi city of Falluja against al-Zarqawi targets. There is a $25 million bounty on al-Zarqawi's head.
"He's a horrible criminal," said Boucher.
"He's appeared on videotapes beheading people. He's been responsible for the murders of many Iraqis and many Americans and many others.
"This organization, as you say, has frequently accepted the blame, admitted the responsibility for some horrible acts. And he's a wanted man.
"And we have, as you know, an ongoing and active effort to catch terrorists, including to catch these terrorists who are operating in Iraq. And we remain very determined to do that."
