US, Turkey sanction 2 al-Qaida-linked militants in Mideast

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The United States and Turkey have slapped sanctions on two al-Qaida-linked militants believed to have raised money for two militant groups operating in Syria. The U.S. Treasury said Tuesday’s move followed another joint action by Washington and Ankara four months ago, when they sanctioned a network of people and companies accusing of helping deliver funds to the extremist Islamic State group. One of the two sanctioned on Tuesday was a Syria-based militant suspected of assisting in the financing of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a key al-Qaida-linked group in Syria’s rebel-held northwestern Idlib province. The other militant is said to be based in Turkey and helped finance a predominantly Uzbek jihadi group.