US adds Pakistani Taliban to terrorism blacklist

WASHINGTON - The State Department is adding the Pakistani Taliban to a terrorism blacklist and targeting the group and its leaders with financial and travel sanctions.

In a notice published Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the group, known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban or TTP, advances terrorism threatening American interests and U.S. national security. She designated the group a "foreign terrorist organization" under U.S. law.

Lawmakers have been pushing for the move since earlier this year when a Pakistani-born American pleaded guilty to the failed May 1 Times Square car bombing. The man confessed that he had been trained for the attack by the Pakistani Taliban to avenge attacks on Muslims by U.S. forces overseas.