State Department Offers $5 Million for ISIS Foreign Fighters Chief

The United States State Department announced Wednesday that a $5 million dollar reward is being offered for information leading to the whereabouts of Abu Muhammad al-Shimali, a leader in the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group.

In its announcement, the State Department said that al-Shimali, who is also known as Tirad al-Jarba, is primarily tasked with securing the transit of foreign jihadis into ISIS-held territory in Syria. He has been a leader in jihadi outfits since 2005.

“He now serves as a key leader in ISIL’s Immigration and Logistics Committee, and is responsible for facilitating the travel of foreign terrorist fighters primarily through Gaziantep, Turkey, and onward to the ISIL-controlled border town of Jarabulus, Syria,” the statement said.

“Al-Shimali and the ISIL Immigration and Logistics Committee coordinate smuggling activities, financial transfers, and the movement of supplies into Syria and Iraq from Europe, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula,” read the State Department announcement.

In 2014, the ISIS leader secured safe passage of aspiring jihadis from Australia, Europe, and the Middle East, the State Department memo said.

The U.S. Treasury Department registered al-Shimali as a Specially Designated National in late September. The designation “blocks his financial assets and prohibits U.S. persons and financial institutions from dealing with him,” according to the State Department.

al-Shimali was also recently added to the United Nations Security Council 1267/1989 Al Qaeda Sanctions List, which bans an individual from traveling from country to country. The jihadi terrorist is also listed in an active INTERPOL-UN Special Notice.

The State Department has offered huge sums of cash for other terror leaders. Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri currently has a $25 million dollar bounty, and information on ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi will be received with a $10 million dollar reward.

On Wednesday, the State Department also offered reward cash for information leading to the location of six leaders in the African Al-Shabaab jihadi terror group, ranging from $3 million dollars for some of its top commanders to $6 million for information on Abu Ubaidah, its leader.