Treasury Department Announces Designation of 3 Saudi Nationals for Their Support of Abu Sayyaf
By Zachary Abuza
Today the US Treasury Department announced the designation of three Saudi Arabian nationals as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order 13224. The three, Abdul Rahim al-Talhi, Muhammad Abdullah Saikh Sughayr and Fahd Muhammad Abd al-Aziz al Khashiban, were proscribed for their financial support of the Philippines Based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) since the early-1990s.
According to the Treasury Department’s Press Release, Abdul Rahim al-Talhi is a “loyal colleague of Usama bin Laden, and a member of the Saudi Arabia-based donor network funding terrorists and supporting extremist activity.” Al-Talhi began supporting the ASG in the early-1990s, providing money as well as Al Qaeda “ideological and training materials, including the al Qaida operations manual.”
By the late-1990s al-Talhi was replaced by Muhammad Abdullah Saikh Sughayr as the chief intermediary between the ASG and Gulf donors. “From 1998 to 2003, Sughayr ensured continued financial and ideological support to the ASG and its affiliates in the Philippines. He also facilitated unspecified weapons and ammunition shipments to the ASG and provided advice and assistance to the group. In addition, he recruited foreign fighters to fill out ASG ranks and gave specialized training in guerilla operations to the ASG.”
Sughayr spent time in the southern Philippines and was arrested on 17 January 2005, in Zamboanga, for his alleged role in funding the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. Philippine police and intelligence officials expressed disgust to me that high level political pressure –purportedly from President Arroyo herself – led to Sughayr’s deportation to Saudi Arabia the following day, on 18 January. Never have the wheels of Philippine Justice turned so quickly. Philippine intelligence officials never even had a chance to question Sughayr. The speed and forcefulness of the Saudi ambassador’s response and lobbying efforts raised eyebrows. There is no public evidence that he was detained upon return to Saudi Arabia.
He continued to support the ASG, with al-Talhi’s assistance. Indeed, the press release continues, “As of December 2006, al-Talhi had helped groom ASG leaders.”
The third suspect, Fahd Muhammad Abd al-Aziz al Khashiban, provided direct financial support to the then-ASG leader Khadaffy Janjalani. Some $18,000 was provided to finance a planned ASG bombing operation targeting either the U.S. or the Australian embassy in Manila; a plot that has been thwarted.
As always with the Treasury Department’s press releases, what is left unsaid is often far more interesting. For one, there is no mention of the MILF, which has just avoided for the sake of the peace process, being kept off the FTO list. Second, the pressure that the Saudi Arabian government put on Sughayr’s extradition suggests that he had high-level political connections who sought to protect him. Third, with greater international scrutiny (I refuse to label it a crackdown) on the Saudi big-four charities, World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), al Haramain, and the Muslim World League (MWL), we should expect to see more money – in particular cash - for Islamist militants coming through individual funders, rather than more formal networks.
These three were not the first Saudis to be designated for their role in funding the ASG. On 3 August 2006, another Saudi national, Abd al-Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, was proscribed on the SDGT list and placed on the UNSC’s 1267 Committee listing.
The Abu Sayyaf is concentrated in the Philippine provinces of Zamboanga, Basilan, and Sulu, in particular Jolo, where US Special Forces are providing intelligence and training to Armed Forces of the Philippines. Despite the neutralization of sever top ASG leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Solaiman since August 2006, the ASG have proved resilient. In March to April 2007, several hundred disaffected MNLF combatants joined the ASG. The ASG have increased their strength and operations in Basilan, where they have been given sanctuary by the MILF. Along with the ASG are thought to be two leading JI bombers, Dulmatin, Umar Patek, and roughly four other Southeast Asian members of JI, including a Singaporean.