U.S. Blacklists Pakistan-Based Militant Leader

The United States has blacklisted the new leader of a Pakistan-based militant group.

In a statement, the State Department announced it had added Bahawal Khan's name to its list of specially designated global terrorists.

The move freezes any assets Khan may have in the United States and prohibits U.S. citizens from any transactions with him.

The department said Khan heads the Commander Nazir Group (CNG), which since 2006 has "run training camps, dispatched suicide bombers, provided safe haven for Al-Qaeda fighters, and conducted crossborder operations in Afghanistan against the United States and its allies."

The CNG was named after Maulvi Nazir, a Pakistan-based Taliban member who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in January.

With reporting by AP