U.S. targets Islamic State foreign fighter from Germany

The Obama administration on Monday slapped sanctions on a German man fighting for the Islamic State militant group, as the issue of foreign fighters with extremist groups is haunting both ends of the Atlantic.

The State Department blacklisted Denis Cuspert as a specially designated global terrorist, a move that entails sanctions freezing all of his assets under U.S. jurisdiction and barring Americans from doing business with him.

The United Nations has added the 39-year-old German to its blacklist, an action that requires all member states to implement an assets freeze, a travel ban and an arms embargo against him.

The State Department said in a statement that Cuspert, who was born in the German capital of Berlin and now calls himself Abu Talha al-Almani, joined the Islamic State in 2012 and "appears to serve as an ISIL recruiter with special emphasis on recruiting German speakers to ISIL."

Washington is leading airstrikes on the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, in both Iraq and Syria, where the extremist group has announced the establishment of a caliphate in areas under its control.

President Barack Obama on Monday discussed the ongoing battle against the group with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House.

The Obama administration is scheduled to host a security summit in Washington on Feb. 18, as the United States and European countries are exploring better means to prevent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing and recruiting their nationals to launch deadly attacks at home, just as some did in Canada, Australia and France in recent months. Endite