US Treasury says new sanctions target Syrian government finances

Washington: The US Treasury Department on Wednesday announced new sanctions on Syria, which it said were aimed at the financial infrastructure helping to hold up the government of President Bashar Al Assad.

The department said it was designating the Commercial Bank of Syria, a Syrian state-owned financial institution, and its Lebanon-based subsidiary, Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, under a presidential executive order that targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters.

It also designated Syriatel, the country's largest mobile phone operator, under a separate executive order that targets Syrian officials and others responsible for human rights abuses in Syria.