Designation of ISIS-Somalia Weapons Trafficking Network

Ned Price, Department Spokesperson

The United States has designated an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-Somalia network of weapons traffickers, their associates, and an affiliated business for facilitating weapons transfers to the terrorist group, as well as Osama Abdelmongy Abdalla Bakr, an ISIS supporter in Brazil.  In 2016, senior ISIS leaders directed Bakr to obtain weapons and military equipment for the terrorist group.

The ISIS-Somalia network operates primarily between Yemen and Somalia and has ties to other terrorist groups, including al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula and al-Shabaab.  Many of the relevant individuals are also involved in other illegal activities, including piracy and environmental crimes, demonstrating their integration with illicit networks operating in the region.

The Department of State designated ISIS-Somalia on February 27, 2018, as well as Abdiqadr Mumin, the leader of ISIS-Somalia, on August 11, 2016, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists pursuant to Executive Order 13224.  ISIS has increasingly sought to generate revenue in East Africa.  ISIS-Somalia, which continues to conduct terrorist attacks against civilians, generates much of its funding by extorting local communities for funding and recruits.  The group punishes, intimidates, and assassinates Somali businessmen and civilians who do not support it financially or provide supplies.

For more information on today’s action, please see the Department of the Treasury’s press release.