(Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury moved to freeze assets on Thursday of four Algerians it said were leaders of an al Qaeda-affiliated group responsible for deadly bombings in Algeria last month.
The Treasury said in a statement that the men -- Salah Gasmi, Yahia Djouadi, Ahmed Deghdegh, and Abid Hammadou -- are leaders of al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, which has claimed responsibility for attacks in Algeria.
Two bombs exploded at a railway station east of Algiers on June 8, killing 12 people including a French national and eight Algerian soldiers. The Treasury said the attack was among three bombings carried out by the group in early June.
"The four terrorists we have targeted today are among the most culpable for this violence as leaders of al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb," said Adam Szubin, head of the Treasury's sanctions arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"We are proud to support the efforts of Algeria and the world community to combat this deadly threat and we will continue to do so," Szubin said.
The men blacklisted by the Treasury were put on a U.N. list of individuals associated with Osama bin Laden and the Taliban on July 3.
The Treasury's move bans Americans from doing business with them and seeks to freeze any assets they might have under U.S. jurisdiction.