IED has continued to be the major cause behind casualties of American soldiers in Afghanistan ever since the US started its mission in 2001.
"IEDs are the leading cause of casualties among coalition troops and civilians in Afghanistan and we must do everything in our power to expose and disrupt the purveyors of these deadly devices," the official said.
With this sanctions, Achekzai's entire property in the US or in possession or control of US nationals having his interest will be blocked. US nationals have also been prohibited from engaging in transactions with him.
Achekzai was part of various attacks carried out by the Taliban in Afghanistan and in 2011, he worked on a plot to assassinate an Afghan Border Police commander, the department of treasury said, adding that he had also recruited a suicide bomber for the purpose.
Till mid-2010, he was in-charge of work like storage and procurement of IED component, detonator construction and conducting IED training in support of Taliban fighters in western and southern Afghanistan, the department said.
In 2010, Achekzai had sent five Taliban suicide bombers to Kandahar to target Afghan authorities whereas in early 2011, he had deployed five suicide bombers to conduct attacks on coalition forces and Afghan authorities.
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