“The US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the location or identification of Tirad al-Jarba, better known as Abu-Muhammad al-Shimali, a key leader of the terrorist group ISIL,” the release said on Wednesday.
Al-Shimali is in charge of facilitating the travel of foreign terrorist fighters to Syria through Turkey, the release added. In 2014, the terrorist helped prospective ISIL fighters come to Syria from Europe, Australia and the Middle East, he also managed ISIL processing center for new recruits in Azaz.
Al-Shimali and ISIL Immigration and Logistics Committee that he leads also “coordinate smuggling activities, financial transfers, and the movement of supplies into Syria and Iraq from Europe, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula.”
US intelligence agencies estimate as many as 7,000 Islamic fighters have flocked to Syria and Iraq in the past year, with approximately 250 from the United States. Thousands of foreign fighters hold passports from western countries, enabling them to move more easily between the United States and Europe.
