US adds Abdullah Azzam Brigades to 'terrorist list'

The US State Department on Thursday said they have added the Abdullah Azzam Brigades to their list of foreign terrorist organisations. Abdullah Azzam Brigades is a group that is present in Lebanon and the Arabian Peninsula and has been accused of launching rockets at Israeli civilians. The ministry said in a statement: “Abdullah Azzam Brigades have repeatedly disclosed their intention to carry out attacks on Western targets in the Middle East. In 2010, for example, the group expressed an interest in kidnapping Americans and British tourists in the Arabian Peninsula." The statement added that the inclusion of the group on the list prohibits providing Abdullah Azzam Brigades with material support or resources and freezes all assets and interests of the group in the United States. The Brigades of Martyr Abdullah Azzam are an armed party affiliated to al-Qaeda. It began its military operations in 2004 with three bombings in Taba resort and Nuweiba beach in Egypt. It derives its name from the party's leader, Abdullah Azzam, who died in 1989. The party is a branch of al-Qaeda in Levant and Kenana. The Fajr Media Centre is responsible for issuance of the group’s statements. The Brigades began activities in Egypt when it struck Taba and Nuweiba, then followed this by blowing up the business district of Sharm el-Sheikh. The group bombed two American battleships in the port of Aqaba in 2005. On Monday August 2, 2010, operatives bombed the cities of Eilat and Aqaba with five Grad rockets which resulted in the death of a Jordanian citizen. On the same day, Youssef Aleiiri battalions announced a suicide bombing carried out by Ayub Taishan against a Japanese oil tanker on the UAE coast without causing explosions, leaks or injuries. The damage was thought at first to be the result of an earthquake before the UAE authorities revealed it was  a deliberate attack.