US extends sanctions to Gaddafi family, officials

The US Treasury Department, moving to boost pressure on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, said on Friday it had extended asset-freeze sanctions to his wife, four of his children and four senior officials in his government.

The Treasury said it added Gaddafi's wife, Safia Farkash, and four children, three of whom hold senior military and state company positions, to its blacklist under new sanctions aimed at Libya. The action bans US persons from conducting transactions with them and seeks to freeze assets that they may have under US jurisdiction. (Reuters)