U.S. Declares German Rapper As Islamic State Terrorist

The U.S. has declared a former rapper to be a global terrorist due to his connection with the Islamic State terrorist group.

The U.S. Department of State has now placed German rapper Denis Cuspert on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list, saying the rap artist, who now goes by the name Abu Talha al-Almani, has begun working as a recruiter for the terrorist organization.

The U.S. adds that Cuspert, who previously performed under the rap name Desso Dog, has left Germany to travel to Iraq or Syria and continue his work with the terrorist organization.

The state department said in an announcement of Cuspert's terrorist status that the former rapper appeared in an Islamic State promotional video last November, holding the severed head of a man who allegedly went against the teachings of the terrorist organization.

"Cuspert has pledged an oath of loyalty to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and appears to serve as an ISIL recruiter with special emphasis on recruiting German speakers to ISIL. Cuspert is emblematic of the type of foreign recruit ISIL seeks for its ranks – individuals who have engaged in criminal activity in their home countries who then travel to Iraq and Syria to commit far worse crimes against the people of those countries," the state department said in a press release Tuesday.

"Cuspert has been a willing pitchman for ISIL atrocities. Cuspert is also wanted by the German government on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities in his home country," the statement adds.