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Fight against Islamic state

EU puts two Russians on Al-Qaeda-linked sanctions list

Earlier, the United States put Byutukayev and Vakhitov on the list of terrorists who joined Islamic State

BRUSSELS, August 9. /TASS/. The European Union (EU) has put two Russian citizens, Aslan Byutukayev and Ayrat Vakhitov, on its sanctions list of individuals affiliated with the al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) terrorist organizations (outlawed in Russia), the EU said in its Official Journal.

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The document states that Byutukayev was born in 1974 in Russia’s southern Stavropol region and is registered in Chechnya. Vakhitov was born in 1977 in Naberezhnye Chelny (Republic of Tatarstan) and may use a forged Syrian or Iraqi passport.

On July 13, the United States put Byutukayev and Vakhitov on the list of terrorists who joined Islamic State. According to US data, Byutukayev fought in Chechnya and was involved in organizing terrorist attacks in Russia, notably, in Moscow’s Domodedovo airport in January 2011.

The US Department of State noted that Byutukayev referred to as a prominent leader of the Caucasus Emirate militant group joined Islamic State in 2015. In November 2015, the Russian law enforcement agencies prevented a bomb explosion in Kantyshevo village in Russia’s North Caucasus Republic of Ingushetia organized by Byutukayev.

The US Department of State described Vakhitov as "a foreign terrorist fighter from Tatarstan, Russia, who has fought in Syria." It added that "Vakhitov is associated with Jaysh al-Muhajirin Wal Ansar" designated as a terrorist group by the US. "Vakhitov has also used the Internet to recruit militants to travel to Syria," it said.

The US Department of State said it had designated Byutukayev and Vakhitov as "Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.".

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