WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department has officially designated an Al-Qaeda-linked Kurdish group as a terrorist organization, freezing the group's U.S. assets and prohibiting U.S. citizens from engaging in business with them.
According to a press release, the Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions (AQKB) formed in 2007 from "the remnants of other Kurdish terrorist groups" and have publicly sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The group operates along the Iraq-Iran border.
The press release said the group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against Iraq's Kurdish regional government, including a May 2007 attack in Irbil in which 19 people were killed when an explosives-packed vehicle struck the Kurdish ministries of the interior and security.
According to a press release, the Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions (AQKB) formed in 2007 from "the remnants of other Kurdish terrorist groups" and have publicly sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The group operates along the Iraq-Iran border.
The press release said the group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks against Iraq's Kurdish regional government, including a May 2007 attack in Irbil in which 19 people were killed when an explosives-packed vehicle struck the Kurdish ministries of the interior and security.