Three sanctioned for alleged terror ties

The United States imposed sanctions on three men who allegedly facilitated Taliban operations and helped another group deemed a terrorist organization, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

One of the men was linked to the failed car bomb attack on New York's Times Square in 2010, Treasury said.

The three, all based in Pakistan, were each were targeted for allegedly providing material, logistical, or financial support to a separate group: the Taliban in Afghanistan, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

"Today's actions are intended to disrupt the activities of three individuals working to carry out violent attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan that threaten the lives of civilians and military forces," Davis Cohen, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

Treasury froze any American-based assets and prohibited any U.S. persons from doing business with them.

Mulawi Adam Khan Achekzai, a known manufacturer and facilitator of improvised explosive devices, was also involved in the production suicide vests for the Taliban, Treasury said.

As a military commander for the Taliban, Adam allegedly trained about 150 roadside bomb makers in support of the Taliban and coordinated the procurement activities of the Taliban in the past. He also has filled other leadership roles for the group in Afghanistan, Treasury said.

Aamir Ali Chaudhry served as an electronics and explosives expert for the Pakistani Taliban, Treasury said.

That organization has claimed responsibility for the recent shooting of a 14-year-old Pakistani girl who advocated for educating girls.

Treasury alleged that Chaudhry advised a Taliban facilitator on fertilizer used in the failed bombing of New York's Times Square and was involved in plots to launch a rocket attack against the Pakistani parliament and to detonate an explosive on a plane.

Qari Ayyub Bashir, who is identified by Treasury as the head of finance for Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, allegedly coordinated financial support for the group's operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan through his sources in Turkey and elsewhere in Europe.

"As these designations demonstrate, we will continue to work to dismantle the terrorist support networks operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, paying special attention to those involved in the manufacture of IEDs," Cohen said.