Military

A.K.A. Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH)
A.K.A. Kata'ib Hizballah
A.K.A. Kata'ib Hizballah Fi Al–Iraq
A.K.A. Katibat Abu Fathel Al A'abas”
A.K.A. Katibat Zayd Ebin Ali
A.K.A. Katibut Karbalah
A.K.A. Khattab Hezballah
A.K.A. Khata'ib Hezbollah
A.K.A. Khata'ib Hizballah
A.K.A. Battalions of the Party of God
A.K.A. Hizballah Brigades
A.K.A. Hizballah Brigades In Iraq
A.K.A. Hizballah Brigades–Iraq
A.K.A. Hizballah Brigades–Iraq of the Islamic Resistance In Iraq

Iran-aligned militia group (IAMG) Islamic Resistance in Iraq, also known as Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) along with a bunch of other names, are Shiite armed groups in Iraq. It ideologically follows the Guardianship of the Jurist system in Iran and calls for adherence to it. The brigades are funded, armed, trained, and supported by Iran, and were headed by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Among the stated goals of the Brigades is “removing the occupier from Iraq and defending the holy sites.” This movement began in 2003 AD after the fall of Baghdad into the hands of the American occupation and with the rise of Shiite influence after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's rule.

This Iraqi terrorist organization is responsible for numerous terrorist acts against Iraqi, U.S., and other targets in Iraq since 2007. Kata’ib Hizballah is a radical Shia Islamist group with an anti-Western establishment and jihadist ideology that has conducted attacks against Iraqi, U.S, and Coalition targets in Iraq. Kata’ib Hizballah has ideological ties to Lebanese Hizballah and gained notoriety in 2007 with attacks on U.S. and Coalition forces designed to undermine the establishment of a democratic, viable Iraqi state. The organization has been responsible for numerous violent terrorist attacks since 2007, including improvised explosive device bombings, rocket propelled grenade attacks, and sniper operations. Kata’ib Hizballah also targeted the International Zone in Baghdad in a November 29, 2008 rocket attack that killed two UN workers. In addition, KH has threatened the lives of Iraqi politicians and civilians that support the legitimate political process in Iraq.

On 17 November 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating six individuals affiliated with the Iran-aligned militia group (IAMG) Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) based in Iraq. Trained, funded, and supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), KH is behind a spate of recent attacks against the United States and partners in Iraq and Syria following the horrific attacks by Hamas against Israel.

“Today’s action sends a message to Kata’ib Hizballah and all other Iran-backed groups that the United States will use all available measures to hold to account any opportunistic actors who seek to exploit the situation in Gaza for their own ends,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “We remain fully committed to security and stability in the Middle East and are steadfast in our efforts to disrupt these destabilizing activities.”

KH was previously designated by the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2009 for having been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against U.S. and Iraqi government targets in Iraq, many on behalf of the Government of Iran and the IRGC-QF. KH has continued to launch unprovoked drone and rocket attacks on Iraqi and U.S. military locations in Iraq and Syria.

Imad Naji al-Bahadli (al-Bahadli) is a member of KH’s governing Shura Council, the lead decision-making body for KH. Prior to his appointment to the Shura Council, al-Bahadli was responsible for KH’s operational elements involved in conducting attacks and kidnappings. Al-Bahadli recruited members of KH to join teams to carry out operations in Iraq that had been planned and authorized by the IRGC. In coordination with U.S.-designated KH Secretary General Ahmad al-Hamidawi, al-Bahadli made plans to intimidate Iraqi politicians who did not support the removal of U.S. forces from Iraq and other KH political priorities. At the direction of senior KH officials, al-Bahadli sought to identify U.S. military installations and U.S. companies that could serve as targets for future KH attacks, which would be launched on the orders of the IRGC-QF. In preparation for these attacks on U.S. interests, al-Bahadli sent KH militants to train in Lebanon with U.S.-designated terrorist organization Lebanese Hizballah, where he himself had been trained.

Habib Hasan Mughamis Darraji (Darraji) serves as KH’s foreign affairs chief. Darraji has coordinated the training of KH fighters in Iran with the IRGC and facilitated the smuggling of goods from Iran to KH members in Iraq.

Ja’afar al-Husayni (al-Husayni) is one of KH’s main media spokesmen and has coordinated with KH fighters planning attacks against U.S. military personnel in Iraq.

Khalid Kadhim Jasim al-Skeni (al-Skeni) is a senior KH military commander who has worked with the IRGC to train KH fighters.

Basim Mohammad Hasab al-Majidi (al-Majidi) is the KH commercial development chief and works directly with members of KH’s Shura Council. Al-Majidi has also been the executive director of the KH-affiliated satellite TV station Al-Ittijah and sought Iranian technical expertise to create news and propaganda in support of KH.

Mojtaba Jahandust (Jahandust) is an IRGC-QF official who facilitates the travel and training of KH fighters in Iran.

Al-Bahadli, Darraji, al-Husayni, al-Skeni, and al-Majidi are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, KH. Jahandust is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, KH.

As a result of this action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.

Kataib Hizb Allah (KH) was formed in early 2007 as a vehicle through which the IRGC Qods Force could deploy its most experienced operators and its most sensitive equipment. Much can be gleaned from the positioning of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (whose real name is Jamal al-Ibrahimi) as the leader of KH. Born in Basra, al-Muhandis is an adviser to IRGC Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani. The life history of al-Muhandis describes the arc of Iranian support for Iraqi Shi`a proxies, with al-Muhandis starting as an exiled member of the outlawed Da`wa Party, working with the IRGC Qods Force to undertake terrorist operations against the Kuwaiti royal family and the U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait in the early 1980s.

Al-Muhandis then joined the Badr movement while living in Iran in 1985, rising to become one of the Iraqi deputy commanders of Badr by 2001. He is a strategist with extensive experience dealing directly with the most senior Iraqi politicians.

As of early 2007, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a lieutenant of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC-QF, formed a Shia militia group employing instructors from Hizballah to prepare this group and certain Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) Special Groups for attacks against Coalition Forces. The groups received training in guerilla warfare, handling bombs and explosives, and employing weapons--to include missiles, mortars, and sniper rifles. In another instance as of September 2007, al-Muhandis led networks that moved ammunition and weapons--to include explosively formed penetrators (EFPs)--from Iran to Iraq, distributing them to certain JAM militias to target Coalition Forces. As of mid-February 2007, al-Muhandis also ran a weapons smuggling network that moved sniper rifles through the Iran-Iraq border to Shia militias that targeted Coalition Forces.

Indeed, al-Muhandis was, until the March 2010 elections, an elected member of parliament, albeit spending most of his time in Iran. Under al-Muhandis, KH developed as a compact movement of less than 400 personnel that is firmly under IRGC Qods Force control and maintains relatively good operational security.

Al-Muhandis also provided logistical support for attacks against Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces conducted by JAM Special Groups and certain Shia militias. In one instance, in April 2008, al-Muhandis facilitated the entry of trucks--containing mortars, Katyusha rockets, EFPs, and other explosive devices--from Iran to Iraq that were then delivered to JAM Special Groups in Sadr City, Baghdad. Additionally, al-Muhandis organized numerous weapons shipments to supply JAM Special Groups who were fighting Iraqi Security Forces in the Basrah and Maysan provinces during late March-early April 2008.

In addition to facilitating weapons shipments to JAM Special Groups and certain Shia militias, al-Muhandis facilitated the movement and training of Iraq-based Shia militia members to prepare them to attack Coalition Forces. In one instance in November 2007, al-Muhandis sent JAM Special Groups members to Iran to undergo a training course in using sniper rifles. Upon completion of the training course, the JAM Special Groups members had planned to return to Iraq and carry out special operations against Coalition Forces. Additionally, in early March 2007, al-Muhandis sent certain Shia militia members to Iran for training in guerilla warfare, light arms, marksmanship, improvised explosive devices (IED) and anti-aircraft missiles to increase the combat ability of the militias to fight Coalition Forces.

On 02 July 2009 the U.S. Department of the Treasury targeted Iran-based individual Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iraq-based Shia extremist group Kata'ib Hizballah for threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and the Government of Iraq. Al-Muhandis and Kata'ib Hizballah have committed, directed, supported, or posed a significant risk of committing acts of violence against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces and as a result are designated today under Executive Order (E.O.) 13438, which targets insurgent and militia groups and their supporters. "These designations play a critical role in our efforts to protect Coalition troops, Iraqi security forces, and civilians from those who use violence against innocents to intimidate and to undermine a free and prosperous Iraq," said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis is an advisor to Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Qods Force, the arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responsible for providing material support to Lebanon-based Hizballah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command. Further, the IRGC-Qods Force provides lethal support to Kata'ib Hizballah and other Iraqi Shia militia groups who target and kill Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. The IRGC-Qods Force was named a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the Treasury Department on October 25, 2007.

On June 24, 2009 Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg designated Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (INA). Deputy Secretary Steinberg also designated KH under section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224, as amended. The Department of Treasury has also designated Kata’ib Hizballah under Executive Order 13438. The Department of State took these actions in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and other relevant U.S. agencies.

These designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business. The consequences of these designations include a prohibition against U.S. persons providing material support or resources to, or engaging in other transactions with KH, and the freezing of all property and interests in property of the organization that are in the United States, or come within the United States, or the control of U.S. persons.

Between March 2007 and June 2008, Baghdad-based Kata'ib Hizballah cell members participated in multiple rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) and improvised rocket-assisted mortar (IRAM) attacks against U.S. forces. These attacks included a May 13, 2008 RPG-29 attack on a U.S. tank located in Sha'ab, Iraq, and a February 19, 2008 IRAM attack on a U.S. base near Rustamiya, Iraq. A February 19, 2008 rocket attack in the Rustamiya area resulted in one U.S. civilian killed and injuries to U.S. civilian and Coalition Forces personnel.

As of 2008, Kata'ib Hizballah was funded by the IRGC-Qods Force and received weapons training and support from Lebanon-based Hizballah. In one instance, Hizballah provided training--to include building and planting IEDs and training in coordinating small and medium arms attacks, sniper attacks, mortar attacks, and rocket attacks--to Kata'ib Hizballah members in Iran.

Recordings made by Kata'ib Hizballah for release to the public as propaganda videos further demonstrate that Kata'ib Hizballah conducted attacks against Coalition Forces. In mid-August 2008, Coalition Forces seized four hard drives from a storage facility associated with a Kata'ib Hizballah media facilitator. The four hard drives included approximately 1,200 videos showing Kata'ib Hizballah's sophisticated planning and attack tactics, techniques, and procedures, and Kata'ib Hizballah's use of the most lethal weapons--including RPG-29s, IRAMs, and EFPs--against Coalition Forces in Iraq.

One of the hard drives contained 35 attack videos edited with the Kata'ib Hizballah logo in the top right corner. Additionally, between February and September 2008, Al-Manar in Beirut, Lebanon, broadcast several videos showing Kata'ib Hizballah conducting multiple attacks against Coalition Forces in Iraq.

Immediately preceding the Government of Iraq's approval of the United States-Iraq security agreement in late November 2008, Kata'ib Hizballah posted a statement that the group would continue fighting Coalition Forces and threatened to conduct attacks against the Government of Iraq if it signed the security agreement with the United States.

As deputy commander for the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs), Jamal Jaafar al-Ibrahimi, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, holds an official Iraqi government position. Mohandes is also the leader of Kata’ib Hezbollah, the group accused of carrying out the May 14 drone attack. Both Mohandes and Kata’ib Hezbollah were designated as terrorist by the US Treasury in 2009 for having committed, directed, supported, or posed a significant risk of committing acts of violence against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. Mohandes is the glaring example of US failure in Iraq. As a member of government, Mohandes has access to US intelligence, training, and equipment. His government paycheck allows him to oversee the distribution of funds to allied militias.

US government officials concluded that the 14 May 2019 drone attack on the east-west Saudi pipeline was launched from southern Iraq, having previously identified Yemen as the launch site. According to the US government, the May 14 drone attack was likely launched by Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia and designated terrorist group created, funded, and directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards – Quds Force (IRGC-QF). The attack therefore means that Iranian proxies have attacked Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, from two different fronts.

The Secretary-General of the Hezbollah Brigades - Iraq, Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi, confirms that the confrontations with the American forces occupying Iraq will not stop until it is liberated. Al-Hamidawi announced on Saturday evening a reduction in the pace of escalation of operations against the American occupation bases in the region until the end of the declared truce (between “Israel” and Hamas, mediated by Qatar and Egypt).

Al-Hamidawi said that the confrontations with the forces occupying Iraq will not stop until it is liberated, and it is "a decision from which we will not deviate, no matter how heavy the sacrifices are." In his statement, he called on Iraqis at home to "join the ranks of the resistance and liberate Iraq from the power of the occupation."

Days after the start of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” epic, Iraqi resistance operations were launched against American bases in Iraq and Syria in response to the continued Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip with American support. In this context, the Secretary-General of the Resistance Movement - Al-Nujaba - Sheikh Akram Al-Kaabi affirmed earlier that “it has become a duty for everyone to declare war on the United States and expel it humiliatedly from Iraq,” stressing that “there is no excuse for anyone after today.”

Al-Kaabi called on all those concerned with political affairs "to work seriously and clearly to end the ill-fated agreement with the occupation, and not to be satisfied with formal positions and procedures, such as filing lawsuits, or expressions of denunciation and denunciation, or reserving the right of response."

In turn, the head of the "We Build Coalition" in Iraq, Hadi Al-Amiri, reiterated his emphasis on the necessity of removing American forces and all international coalition forces from Iraq immediately, stressing that their presence will lead to "more Iraqi bloodshed, and will cause confusion to the security situation."