WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department will formally
designate the Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram as a "foreign
terrorist organization" on Wednesday, congressional sources and others
briefed on the matter said.
The designation is significant
because it directs U.S. law enforcement and regulatory agencies to block
business and financial transactions with Boko Haram, which wants to
impose Islamic law in northern Nigeria.
The move makes it a crime
under U.S. law to provide "material support" to the group. A State
Department spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Boko Haram and other splinter Islamist groups are seen
as the biggest security threat in Nigeria, Africa's most populous
country and top oil exporter.
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