US blacklists new leader of Kataib Hezbollah
The US designated an Iraqi paramilitary leader as a terrorist and vowed to step up pressure on his ally Iran.
On Wednesday, the State Department listed Ahmad Al Hamidawi, secretary general of Kataib Hezbollah, as a “specially designated global terrorist”.
The move freezes any US assets he may hold and makes American transactions with him a crime.
Al Hamidawi took over leadership of the militia from Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, who was killed in a US drone attack in Baghdad on January 3.
Al Muhandis died alongside top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
Kataib Hezbollah, which has strong ties to Iran, has been designated as a terrorist group by the US since 2009.
“Today we are intensifying our pressure on this terrorist group,” said Nathan Sales, the State Department counter-terrorism chief.
He said the group’s aim was to “advance the Iranian regime goal of turning Iraq into a vassal state”.
The State Department said Kataib Hezbollah carried out the rocket attack on December 27 that killed an American contractor at an Iraqi base that houses US troops.
The incident sent tension in the region soaring, with the US bombing paramilitary targets and killing Suleimani and Al Muhandis at Baghdad airport.
The State Department also said there were to indications Kataib Hezbollah was behind sniper attacks against demonstrators in October in Baghdad.
The protests brought down a government with close ties to Iran.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to Iraq’s prime ministerdesignate, Mohammed Allawi, and urged the government to protect US forces.