The United States has designated a former German rapper as a global terrorist for fighting for the Islamic State militant group.
The State Department says Denis Cuspert, 39, joined the militants in 2012 and appeared in several propaganda videos, including one from November "in which he appears holding a severed head he claims belongs to a man executed for opposing" IS.
The action bans Americans from doing business with Cuspert and blocks any U.S. assets he has.
The U.S. State Department said Cuspert, who now calls himself Abu Talha al-Almani, recruits German speakers for Islamic State.
Germany wants him on suspicion of terrorism at home.
The February 9 announcement coincided with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to the United States.
The United Nations put Cuspert on its global blacklist.
