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Egyptian Group and Al Qaeda Leader Ibrahim al-Rubaysh Named as Terrorists

The distinction freezes assets and blocks Americans from transactions with those designated global terrorists.

The State Department has given a global terrorism designation to a senior leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and to an Egyptian jihadist group.

The AQAP leader is Ibrahim al-Rubaysh, who in August called on Muslims to wage war on the United States. The designation bars Americans from doing business with him and freezes any assets tied to him in the United States.

Al-Rubaysh was transferred from the American prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Saudi Arabia in 2006, and escaped to Yemen, according to The Long War Journal, a website that tracks international terrorism.

The jihadist group is Ajnad Misr, which announced its formation in January and has claimed responsibility for attacks on Egyptian security forces, including at Egyptian universities. On Twitter, an Ajnad Misr leader thanked the United States for the designation, The Long War Journal reported.

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— Erin McClam