WASHINGTON - The United States on Friday targeted a key Taliban bomb-maker for sanctions, the first of its kind that aims to stifle the flow of the deadly improvised explosive devices (IED).

The Department of Treasury described Abdul Samad Achekzai, a 42- year-old Afghan national, as a key official in the Taliban's IED supply network, who was as recently as mid-2010 tasked with IED component procurement and storage, detonator construction and IED training in support of Taliban fighters in western and southern Afghanistan.

In addition, Samad joined attacks in Afghanistan against NATO forces and Afghan authorities, the agency said, noting the sanctions against him is the first that ever specifically targets the Taliban's IED manufacturer and support network.

"As a key official in the Taliban's IED supply network, Abdul Samad Achekzai is responsible for untold death and suffering," said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

"IEDs are the leading cause of casualties among coalition troops and civilians in Afghanistan and we must do everything in our power to expose and disrupt the purveyors of these deadly devices," he said in a statement.

The move against Samad bars US citizens from doing business with him and freezes all his assets under US jurisdiction.