The US State Department announced Tuesday its designation of the Al Qaeda-linked Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSC), known as Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Since its founding in 2012, the Gaza and Sinai-based MSC has claimed responsibility for a number of rocket attacks on Israel, including on Sderot and Eilat. The US State Department website listed a June 18, 2012 infiltration attack from Gaza on an Israeli construction site that killed a civilian to the crimes committed by the organization. The group also has claimed to be active in Judea and Samaria . Under the new US designation, there is a prohibition against providing material support or resources to MSC, and it further freezes all property of the group in the US or held under US control. Additionally, the US State Department notes MSC released a statement in February declaring its support for Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), signaling an apparent break with Al Qaeda. The US has been conducting limited airstrikes against IS terrorists in Iraq, where they have conquered vast areas in addition to their holdings in Syria. IS on Monday threatened the US, saying it would " drown all of you in blood."
