US Announces $10 Million Reward for Al-Qaida FinancierPosted Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 3:30 pm
The United States has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to an al-Qaida financier who is believed to be in Iran.
A State Department official, Robert Hartung, said Yasin al-Suri, also known as Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, helped move money and recruits through Iran to al-Qaida leaders in neighboring countries.
Hartung told reporters in Washington Thursday that the announcement marks the first time that the State Department's Rewards for Justice program has offered compensation for information that leads to a terrorist financier.
He said al-Suri operated under an agreement between al-Qaida and the government of Iran, and moved terrorist recruits through Iran to al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Hartung said the alleged financier arranged for the release of al-Qaida operatives from Iranian prisons and their transfer to Pakistan, and also funneled significant amounts of money to al-Qaida leadership in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The State Department official described al-Suri as a “dedicated terrorist working in support of al-Qaida with the support of the government of Iran.”