Financial attack on terror expands as more assets frozen

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration widened its financial assault on terrorism Friday, naming an additional 39 individuals and organizations to have their assets frozen.

The Treasury Department released a new list of entities suspected of conducting or financing terrorist activities. The latest move to choke off terrorists' funding is considered by President Bush to be a key part of the U.S. government's broader anti-terrorism campaign.

"We are determined to deny terrorists the resources to carry out their acts of evil," said Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.

O'Neill said the new list includes businesses and charitable organizations that funnel money to the al-Qaida network. He also said that assets of all 22 of the FBI's recently released "most wanted terrorists" list are now subject to the blocking order.

The new list follows up on a Sept. 24 order by President Bush authorizing a freeze on the assets of 27 people and organizations suspected of conducting or financing terrorist activities. The list included 12 individuals counting Osama bin Laden; 11 organizations, including the al-Qaida network; three charities; and one business.

Growing list

O'Neill said the government will continue to add names of entities being targeted to have their assets frozen.

"This list will continue to grow as we share information between nations and develop an increasingly clear understanding of the complex network of terrorist financing," O'Neill said.

Friday's list contains 21 new names and the remaining 18 people on the FBI's most wanted terrorists list. Four names on the FBI list were already included in Bush's September order.

The 21 new names include: Bilal Bin Marwan, identified as a senior lieutenant of bin Laden; Sa'd Al-Sharif said to be a senior bin Laden associate and a brother-in-law of bin Laden and is believed to be the head of his financial network; Amin Al-Haq said to be bin Laden's security coordinator and is an Afghan-born doctor practicing in Pakistan; and Mamoun Darkazanli described as a well-connected bin Laden agent.

Also on the list is Jaish-I-Mohammed, or Army of Mohammed, described as a militant Islamic pro-Taliban group. The U.S. government says the group is responsible for a number of grenade attacks and bombings in India that killed dozens of people.

$24 million frozen

On Thursday, the Bush administration announced that roughly $24 million in assets, including some belonging to bin Laden, has been frozen by the United States and other countries since last month's terror attacks.

The United States has been working closely with other nations to block the flow of money to terrorist networks, something Bush has said goes to the heart of the country's anti-terrorism campaign.

Of the $24 million frozen since the attacks, nearly $4 million was blocked by the United States, the Treasury Department said. The rest was frozen by other countries.

All of the frozen assets were connected to either Saudi exile bin Laden, his al-Qaida network or Afghan-istan's ruling Taliban militia, a Treasury official said, speaking on condition of anonymity

The U.S. government considers bin Laden, estimated to have a personal fortune of around $300 million, to be the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks.