US adds leader of Iraqi militia to blacklist

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Xinhua): U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it has designated Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the head of an Iraqi militia, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

The department said in a statement that al-Hamidawi is the Secretary General of Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH), which Washington claimed is "an Iran-backed terrorist group active in Iraq and Syria."

According to the statement, KH has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against U.S. and Coalition Forces in Iraq, including a rocket attack on an Iraqi base near Kirkuk in late December of 2019 that killed a U.S. civilian contractor and injured four U.S. service members.

Following the designation, all of al-Hamidawi's property and interests in the United States have been blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.