OFAC Adds Al-Qa'ida Kurdish Battalions to its SDN List

On January 5, 2012, the Office of Foreign Assets Control added Al-Qa'ida Kurdish Battalions (a.k.a. Kurdistan Battalion of Islamic State in Iraq; a.k.a. Kurdistan Brigade of Al-Qaeda in Iraq; a.k.a. Kurdistan Brigades; a.k.a. "AQKB"), Iran; Iraq [SDGT] to its "Specially Designated Nationals" list. SDNs are (i) individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries or (ii) individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. The assets of listed SDNs are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.