US blacklists new leader of Iran-backed Iraqi militia
The successor of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis as leader of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah has been designated as a global terrorist by the United States.
WASHINGTON — The State Department today announced the designation of Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the leader of the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia group Kataib Hezbollah, as a global terrorist a day ahead of the expected confidence vote by Iraq’s parliament on a new government.
The Iraqi militia group, which is a part of the Iraqi government-backed Popular Mobilization Units, has been designated as a global terrorist group by the United States since 2009. The United States killed Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a Jan. 3 drone strike at Baghdad International Airport that targeted and also killed Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.
