U.S. Slaps Terrorist Designations On Members of Uzbek Islamist Groups

The United States has slapped terrorist designations on two members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and one member of Uzbekistan’s Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), prohibiting U.S. transactions with the men and freezing all of their U.S. property and interests in property.

The U.S. State Department said brothers Yassin and Monir Chouka, which Washington lists as dual Moroccan and German nationals, are “fighters, recruiters, facilitators, and propagandists” for the IMU, a militant Islamic group that Washington has designated as a terrorist organization.

Mevlut Kar, listed as a dual Turkish and German citizen, is described as a “facilitator and recruiter” for the IJU, another designated terrorist group that splintered from the IMU.

The U.S. statement says the Choukas operate along the Afghan-Pakistan border and have carried out deadly operations against International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops.

Kar is also wanted in Lebanon for trying to establish an al-Qaeda cell in the country.

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