The Obama administration on Thursday slapped sanctions on Yahya Abu Hammam, a senior leader of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

As AQIM leader for the Sahel region, Hammam has played a "key role" in the group's ongoing terrorist activities in North Africa and Mali, the Department of Treasury said in a statement.

Before succeeding Nabil Abu-Alqama, the former leader who died in a car crash in late 2012, Hammam led AQIM operations in northern Mali and participated in several attacks in Mauritania, the Treasury said.

The Algerian man was also involved in AQIM's kidnapping-for- ransom actions, and reportedly had taken multiple Europeans hostage as of late 2011, the agency said.

"The United States will continue to support the efforts of France and the international community to combat AQIM's violent extremism in Mali and throughout the region," said David Cohen, the Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

"We have witnessed the suffering that AQIM has inflicted on the innocent populations and hostages under its control and remain determined to cut off the funding it needs to recruit new members and carry out future terrorist attacks," he added.