Washington - The US government announced Monday that it had frozen the assets of the leader of a group which has ties to al-Qaeda and has sought to carry out terrorist attacks in China.

The US Treasury Department moved against Abdul Haq, the leader of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, which advocates establishing an independent state in a part of China.

"Abdul Haq commands a terror group that sought to sow violence and fracture international unity at the 2008 Olympic Games in China," said Stuart Levey, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and finance. "Today, we stand together with the world in condemning this brutal terrorist and isolating him from the international financial system."

The United Nations years ago added Haq to a list of individuals associated with Osama bin Laden, allowing member countries to apply sanctions against him. (dpa)