The US on Tuesday (November 20th) put a confidant of "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on its terror blacklist, AFP reported.

Hajji Abdel Nasir has been named a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist", said Nathan Sales, the US State Department's point man on counter-terrorism.

"ISIS is down but not out," he said in a statement. "As ISIS continues to lose ground on the battlefield, we must starve it of the resources it uses to commit terrorism around the world."

The State Department said the decision was made in conjunction with the UN Security Council, which on Monday put Abdel Nasir on its own sanctions list.

The twin listings mean that Abdel Nasir is subject to an international asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. US citizens and entities are prohibited from doing business with him.

Abdel Nasir "has held several leadership positions in ISIS" including heading the group's "Delegated Committee", which reports to al-Baghdadi and "exercises administrative control of the terrorist organisation's affairs", the State Department said.

It said the committee Abdel Nasir chaired was "responsible for planning and issuing orders related to ISIS's military operations, tax collections, religious police, and commercial and security operations".