US ties Syrian official to Iraq insurgency
Afp, Washington
The White House on Wednesday for the first time named a Syrian official as having "directly contributed" to support for the insurgency in Iraq, as the United States moved to freeze his assets. The charge came after the US Treasury Department slapped the financial sanctions on the official, Syrian military spy chief Asset Shawkat, the brother-in-law of President Bashar al-Assad. "Mr. Shawkat, as Syria's chief of military intelligence, has directly contributed to Syria's support for terrorism, including the insurgency in Iraq, Palestinian terrorist groups given shelter in Damascus, and Hezbollah and other terrorist groups in Lebanon," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
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