US govt designates four 'ISIS members' in Durban
The US government has designated four people it says are members of an ISIS cell in Durban.
In a statement on its website, the US Treasury Department says the individuals have been providing technical, financial and material support to the terrorist organisation.
It claims the four have also been involved in attack planning, and organisational and recruitment activities for the group.
Eight companies owned, controlled, or directed by the individuals in the cell have also been designated.
The US says the individuals are associates of Farhad Hoomer, who it says is the leader of the ISIS cell.
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Hoomer was previously arrested in October 2018 in connection with a deadly knife attack at a Verulam mosque.
He was also allegedly behind several bomb scares in and around Durban, two of which were found inside the Woolworths stores in Gateway and Pavillion shopping centres the same year.
The matter was provisionally withdrawn in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court in 2019.
In its statement, the US Treasury Department has warned that ISIS continues to expand its terrorist network across Africa.
