U.S. freezes assets of two branches of Saudi-based charity

The U.S. Treasury Department named on Thursday two branches of a Saudi Arabia-based charity as fund-raisers for al-Qaida and other terror groups, and said it would freeze all their assets found in the United States.

The department named the Philippine and Indonesian branches of the International Islamic Relief Organization as fund-raisers for al-Qaida and other terror groups, and one of the organization's high-ranking officials as a fund-raiser for al-Qaida.

By the move announced on Thursday, Americans were barred from having any transactions with the organization's two branches and Abd Al Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, and their assets in the United States would be frozen.

The charity had operations in more than 20 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, according to the department.

Source: Xinhua