Herbert Maack
In early November, the U.S. Department of the Treasury levied sanctions on associates and companies of Farhad Hoomer, an alleged South African Islamic State (IS) cell leader who had already been sanctioned in March (Treasury.gov, March 1). According to U.S. authorities, Hoomer headed an IS cell in Durban, which he organized in 2017-2018. The cell is believed to have provided technical, financial, and material support to IS in southern Africa. In addition, the sanctions indicate that the IS cell was mainly raising funds for IS operatives elsewhere in Africa, such as in Mozambique and the Congo, for conducting kidnapping-for-ransom operations and extorting major businesses, which provided more than one million South African rand (around $60,000 dollars) in revenue for the cell (Treasury.gov, March 1). Hoomer’s case shows how certain individuals play key roles in support networks and resource generation for jihadist movements.
