US targets Afghan group's 'suicide operations' chief

The Obama administration on Monday announced sanctions against the chief of suicide operations for Afghanistan's Haqqani Network, Qari Zakir.

The State Department designated the Haqqani Network as a terrorist organization in September, despite the Pakistani military's private objections, after much prodding from Congress. Zakir is the first individual member of the group to be singled out for sanctions by the Treasury Department, which freezes any U.S. assets he may have and makes it a crime for American citizens to help him.

“This designation today follows on the broader U.S. designation of the Haqqani Network not too long ago. It is a way of ensuring that U.S. banks know that this individual is completely covered by the broader designation, and giving them what they need to identify him as a full member of the Haqqani Network,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday. “This makes absolutely clear to American entities that they shouldn't deal with him in any way, shape or form.”

Zakir allegedly runs the Haqqani network's terrorist training program in Afghanistan. He has been linked to several attacks against U.S. and NATO targets in the country, including an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul last September.

Pakistan officially says it does not oppose the decision to blacklist the terror group and denies U.S. allegations that its military has links to the terror group. Pakistan, a member of the UN Security Council, did not oppose the 15-member council's decision to blacklist the group on Monday.

Correction: This post was corrected to indicate that the Haqqani network is an Afghan, not Pakistani group

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