US Punishes Alleged ISIS Agents in South Africa for Funding Terrorist Activitie

Picture courtesy : (JOAO RELVAS) Two alleged ISIS agents were found in South Africa for their alleged connection with the enlarged activities of ISIS.

(The Post News)- The United States Department of the Treasury issued a statement on Wednesday announcing the punishment against three individuals on the African continent for their alleged connection with the enlarged activities of ISIS.

Two of the three people are located in South Africa; however, the third person is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The US Treasury said that the individuals who are given punishment today are being decided on under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, which targets terrorist groups, including their supporters.

According to the US Treasury, Abubakar Swalleh is a South Africa and Zambia-located ISIS operative who is allegedly connected to the physical generation of funds between SA and the DRC.

Swalleh facilitates the motion of ISIS-affiliated individuals between Uganda and SA, and vice versa.

The US Treasury added that the DRC-based Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) commander, Mohamed Ali Nkalubo, depends on Swalleh for the motion of funds, including the recruitment of people and also the ISIS DRC affiliate.

Swalleh relocated to South Africa, under Nkalubo, where he had connections with kidnapping for ransom and even robberies.

Zayd Gangat is also assumed to be a South African ISIS facilitator and trainer, according to the US Treasury.

The ISIS leaders located in SA have been using robbery, extortion, and kidnapping-for-ransom funds for the group.

Meanwhile, Hamidah Nabagala, who’s the third individual and is DRC-based, is allegedly working as an intermediary for financial flow in central Africa.

Nabaggala has been blamed for funding the October 2021 bombing, which was aimed at Kampala, leading to the death of at least one person and injuring three people.

It is alleged that all of them serve as key financiers even as trusted operatives that are engaged in the activities of ISIS, including the others from ISIS leaders in Central, Southern, and Eastern Africa.

They also served as vital links between far-flung ISIS operations, including affiliates in the DRC, Mozambique, Somalia, and ISIS cells in South Africa.

This connectivity allows ISIS leaders to leverage each affiliate’s capabilities to orchestrate terrorist assaults that undermine regional peace and security.

Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson, stated that today’s action underscores the crucial role of the Counter ISIS Finance Group and the importance of effective information sharing among Coalition countries to dismantle ISIS’s facilitation network.