SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The United States has imposed sanctions on an Iraqi militia leader, designating him a global “terrorist” figure, the state department said on Wednesday.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Abdulaziz al-Muhammadawi, known as Abu Fadak, a senior figure of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia, AP reported.
Abu Fadak is also acting deputy chairman of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a role he took on after a U.S. drone strike last January in Baghdad that killed the group’s deputy head Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.
The U.S. State Department claimed that Abu Fadak was working with Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force to “reshape official Iraqi state security institution … to instead support Iran’s malign activities,” AP cited the U.S. State Department as saying.
The state department said Iran-backed elements, including Kataib Hezbollah, were involved in sectarian violence and were responsible for attacks against Iraqi government’s facilities and diplomatic missions.
“Today’s designation seeks to deny Muhammadawi the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks,” the U.S. department of state said in a statement.
“This designation also notifies the U.S. public and the international community that Muhammadawi poses a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism,” it added.
It was the second time in a week that a senior Iraqi militia official has been sanctioned by the United States.
U.S. blacklisted Falih al-Fayyadh, chairman of Popular Mobilization Committee and former national security advisor, on Friday and accused him of rights abuses against anti-government protesters in October.
The United States said al-Fayyadh was the head of the PMC when forces under its command fired live ammunition at peaceful protesters in 2019, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
Iraq’s biggest anti-government protests in decades broke out in October 2019 and continued for several months, with hundreds of thousands of Iraqis demanding jobs, services and the removal of the ruling elite, which they said was corrupt.
Nearly 500 people were killed. The protests caused the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Iraqi Foreign Ministry denounced on Saturday as “unacceptable” the U.S. decision, saying it would “carefully follow up with the current and the new administration in Washington on all decisions issued by the U.S. Treasury Department against Iraqis.”
Iraq is a close military ally of both the United States and Iran, which have battled for influence there since a U.S.-led invasion in 2003 toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
Both countries supplied military support to Baghdad to fight against Islamic State militants from 2014-2017. The United States still has thousands of troops in Iraq, while Iran still supports the PMF.
