Indian-origin man designated global terrorist by US

Siddharta Dhar believed to be masked leader who appeared in an IS video of the execution of several prisoners

The US State Department on Tuesday designated an Indian-origin man from Britain, Siddharta Dhar, as a global terrorist and imposed sanctions on him.

Along with Dhar, Abdelatif Ghani a Belgian-Moroccan citizen was also designated a terrorist.



According to the State Department's press release, both are members of Islamic State (IS) and sanctions were imposed "on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States."

According to the State Department, Dhar was a leading member of Al Muhajiroun, a now-defunct terrorist organisation. He left the UK in 2014 to travel to Syria to join IS.

"He is considered to have replaced IS executioner Mohammad Emwazi, also known as 'Jihadi John.' Dhar is believed to be the masked leader who appeared in a January 2016 ISIS video of the execution of several prisoners IS accused of spying for the UK," states the press release on the website.



Ghani is believed to be fighting for IS in the Middle East, according to the State Department. He is also believed to be connected to UK-based IS sympathisers Mohamad Ali Ahmed and Humza Ali, who were convicted in the UK in 2016 of terrorism offenses.