US blacklists Algerian terrorist group, Islamist rebel leader in Syria

The United States officially blacklisted Algerian jihadists and a Syrian Islamist rebel group Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Signatories in Blood, the Algerian Al-Qaeda breakaway faction who is responsible for the siege of the Algerian gas plant in January this year was officially designated as a "foreign terrorist organization" by the United States State Department.

The armed group, also known as the al-Mulathamun Battalion, was originally established by Mokhtar Belmokhtar following his break with Al Qaeda's group in the Islamic Maghreb last year.

In a related action, the U.S. State Department blacklisted the leader of Syria's Al-Nusra Front, Usamah Amin Al Shihab. Officially considered as a "global terrorist," the leader, along with other blacklisted groups and individuals is banned from any dealings with US citizens or companies.