Washington, DC - The Department of State has maintained and amended the designation of the Abdallah Azzam Brigades (AAB) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to add the aliases Marwan Hadid Brigades and Marwan Hadid Brigade. The Department has also amended the group’s designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 to add the additional aliases.

These designations seek to deny AAB the resources it needs to carry out terrorist attacks, and today’s actions further this goal by notifying the U.S. public and the international community that AAB operates under and/or is known by other names. Among other consequences of the group’s designations, all of AAB’s property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the group. In addition, knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to the organization is prohibited.

Following a mandated five-year review of AAB’s FTO designation, the Department of State determined that AAB has remained active since its original designation in 2012 and continued its operations, including a June 2014 suicide bombing that killed one and wounded 37 others at a checkpoint in Lebanon and a June 2014 car bombing near Beirut, Lebanon. The Department has also concluded that the group operates in Syria under the name Marwan Hadid Brigades, which has carried out attacks jointly with the FTO and SDGT al-Nusrah Front and has engaged in terrorist training at a camp in Syria.

Terrorism designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and other governments.