The United States has placed a Georgian national on a list of individuals it accuses of working with extremist organizations such as Islamic State (IS) to provide financial and material support to terrorist fighters in Syria.
Tarkhan Batirashvili, known in the Middle East as Omar al-Shishani and described by U.S. authorities as a "Syria-based Georgian national," was one of 11 individuals designated as "specially designated global terrorists" by the U.S. Treasury Department on September 24.
Batirashvili has held "top military positions" within IS and "has led a number of attacks" over the past several years, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
He also oversaw an Islamic State-controlled prison facility in Syria where foreign hostages may have been held, and he previously led militants from Chechnya and elsewhere in the Caucasus fighting in Syria, the Treasury Department said.