The United States has added three individuals and six companies to its sanctions list over their links to facilitating financial transactions for the Islamic State group.
The US State Department said on Monday, June 22, that the move targets key intermediaries who enable the group to move funds among its regional branches.
The department added that the targeted entities and individuals operate across Europe, the Middle East, and West Africa, facilitating cross-border money transfers for the Islamic State. It said the network extends from France and Syria to Turkey and Nigeria.
According to the department, the sanctions list included a France-based intermediary who provided information on the use of explosives to the group’s supporters, a Syria-based operative who used cryptocurrencies to transfer funds in several countries, including the United States, and a Nigeria-based intermediary whose exchange companies acted as funding channels.
The US State Department said its measures reflect the continued pressure Washington is placing on Islamic State, to counter the expansion of the group’s reliance on financial intermediaries to connect its global network.
It affirmed that the US government is working to dismantle the group’s ability to finance terrorism worldwide, cut off the global financial supply lines that enable it to fund attacks, support its regional branches, and threaten civilians, including religious minorities.
The department stressed that it would use all available diplomatic and legal tools to hold the group and its supporters accountable, wherever they are and whatever their sources of funding.
It pledged continued work with international partners to eliminate the threat the group poses to global peace and security.
Syria Joins Coalition to Fight the Group
Syria joined the US-led international coalition to fight the Islamic State group in November 2025, becoming the 90th member of the coalition formed in 2014.
The Syrian government announces from time to time that it has dismantled cells or arrested people suspected of belonging to the group.
The Syrian Interior Ministry had announced the arrest of 235 Islamic State members over three months.
The ministry added on June 8 that its operations were the result of efforts by Syrian General Intelligence to pursue the group’s cells.
As part of the operations carried out, the Interior Ministry said the Counterterrorism Department had succeeded in dismantling seven cells and thwarting seven operations.
According to the ministry, the arrests by month included 80 members in March, 99 in April, and 56 in May, including 71 in Deir Ezzor and 35 in Aleppo.
The ministry did not provide details on the locations of the other arrests, noting that the detainees included 198 Syrians and 37 foreigners.
According to the Interior Ministry, the dismantled cells were distributed across two operations in Damascus, two in Deir Ezzor, and one operation each in Aleppo, Hama, and Homs.
The Interior Ministry said it seized 25 weapons, six vehicles, 22 devices prepared for detonation, and 67 electronic devices during its operations against Islamic State.
Islamic State Operations in Syria
The Islamic State group is waging a war against the government, accusing it of “infidelity, deviation from the teachings of Islam, and subordination to the US government.”
The group claims operations against government employees or security personnel affiliated with the Syrian government in several areas.
On June 20, the group claimed responsibility for targeting two Syrian army soldiers in the village of Salha near Manbij, northeast of Aleppo, with machine guns, killing them.
The Manbij attack came days after a series of operations claimed by the group, including its June 17 claim of responsibility for targeting the head of the Justice Palace department in the town of Babila, south of Damascus.
The group also announced one day earlier that two of its members had attacked the Internal Security command headquarters west of Raqqa.