U.S. targets four in Pakistan for terrorism support

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday froze the assets of four people it said helped carry out terrorist attacks and provided support to al Qaeda and another militant group in Pakistan.

The Treasury said it would freeze the funds and assets Fazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari, Arif Qasmani, Mohammed Yahya Mujahid and Nasir Javaid.

"The designated individuals have provided direct support to al Qaeda and LeT and have facilitated ... terrorist attacks, including the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India," the department said in a statement.

LeT refers to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group. The United States named it a foreign terrorist organization in December 2001. It was banned in Pakistan in 2002.

This week the United Nations added the four names to a list of individuals associated with Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda and the Taliban. All U.N. member states are obligated to freeze the funds of those on the list.

The Treasury department said al-Peshawari provided funds and recruits to al Qaeda and the Taliban. It said he was responsible for recruiting fighters and suicide bombers and for funding militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It said Qasmani coordinated the LeT's dealings with outside organizations, conducted fund-raising and helped facilitate attacks including the 2006 train bombings in Mumbai which killed more than 180 people.

Mujahid has spoken on behalf of the LeT as its spokesman since at least mid-2001, the Treasury department said. Javaid has served as an LeT commander in Pakistan and has commanded an LeT training center in Pakistan, it said.

(Reporting by Deborah Charles; editing by Mohammad Zargham)