Democratic Senate candidate El-Sayed’s mother worked for Hamas, Taliban-linked group

Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed's birth mother, Fatten Fathy Elkomy, worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA) from 1999 to 2004. The US Department of the Treasury designated IARA as a terror group in 2004, stating it financed Hamas and the Taliban, and was tied to Osama Bin Laden's Maktab Al-Khidamat. Elkomy was mentioned 14 times in exhibits from a 2007 Department of Justice indictment against IARA-US for illegally transferring funds to Iraq, though she was not charged. Elkomy denied any terrorist connections, stating in 2004, "I have been working there serving orphans and children with at least one deceased parent."