The war against terrorism is tightening as each day each minute is passing. The United States is hell bent on fighting this war with all its fervor. A recent strategy of the US in this direction has been to stop the flow of funds to terrorist outfits. As a part of this campaign the United States has decided to target the sources of funds of al-Qaida, a militant Islamic group. The US has frozen the assets of a son-in-law of the world feared terrorist Osama bin Laden, Muhammad Abdallah Hasan Abu-al-Khayr.

Al-Khayr is being contemplated as a possible nominee for the post Chief Financial Officer of the al-Qaida. This terrorist group was founded between August 1988 and 1989. Its network comprises of both multination, stateless army as well as a fundamentalist Sunni movement. They are fighting for a global Jihad.
The most notable 11th September attack on the twin towers in New York City and Washington DC in 2001 was carried out by al-Qaida itself. They have attacked civilian and military targets in various countries. The US government launched its War on Terror as a response to these attacks.

The Treasury Department of US on Tuesday imposed new sanctions under which the assets of al-Khayr would be frozen in US jurisdictions. This news has surfaced after the death of Mustafa al-Yazid, a former prominent al-Qaida leader and financier. Al-Yazid was killed earlier this year in a drone strike in Pakistan. The US Treasury has also gone one up and has imposed prohibition on Americans on transacting with al-Khayr. However, it is not only the US which has imposed this restriction. The United Nations have also taken a similar step and have extended the sanctions against al-Khayr to all of it member nations.

The US Treasury Department has apparently stated that the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden was highly instrumental in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for a specific and detailed terrorist attack against the welfare and safety of the United States. This is not the first time that al-Khayr has been in the spotlight. He had also appeared before in a list in 2009 which comprised of 89 most wanted people by the government of Saudi Arabia. This visibility of him was also partly credited to his role as a facilitator of finances in al-Qaida.

But apart from his role as a financial officer, al-Khayr also plays a leadership role in the media committee of al-Qaida. He has also recruited members for al-Qaida on at least one occasion.
The roots of his relationship with al-Qaida can be traced back to mid 1990s as he began his military training with the terrorist outfit. Sources have said that he was so close to the upper echelons on the terrorist outfit that he has also served as a bodyguard to the Osama bin Laden, one of the most feared terrorists of the world.

Stuart Levey, the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said, “After the death in May of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who essentially served as al-Qaida’s chief financial officer, we will continue to work with our allies to target those like al-Khayr who could step into al-Yazid’s shoes.” The primary objective towards taking this step has been to ensure that al-Qaida remains in severe financial crunch.

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