The United States on Tuesday accused a Syrian of bankrolling Al Qaeda and rebels in Iraq, a first step toward an international freeze on his bank transfers and travel. The US Treasury said Sulayman Khalid Darwish provides money and material to Al Qaeda and its group in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "This terrorist financier is helping support Zarqawi, who has launched violent acts against our troops, coalition partners and the Iraqi people," Treasury Secretary John Snow said in a statement. "Identifying financial operatives and choking off the flow of blood money moves us closer to our ultimate goal of fracturing the financial backbone of the Iraqi insurgency and Al Qaeda," he said.Darwish lives in Syria and is a member of Zarqawi's advisory council, the statement said. He was also trained in Afghanistan in weapons, topography, artillery, electronics and explosives, according to the Treasury, which also said he is an expert document forger. Darwish sent 10,000 to 12,000 dollars to Zarqawi in Iraq every 20-15 days, carried by suicide attack volunteers entering Iraq, the statement said.