Baghdad

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Pro-Iranian Iraq militia Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) on Saturday (Nov 18) denounced the sanctions imposed by the United States earlier this week over the recent attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria. In a statement released on Telegram, Kata’ib Hizballah spokesperson Abu Ali al-Askari said attacks by "the Islamic resistance in Iraq" were part of a "strategy of attrition", dismissing sanctions as ineffectual.

"The inclusion of certain brothers in the so-called 'American sanctions list' is ridiculous," Askari said, adding such would not dissuade "our courageous fighters."

Days after the Israel-Hamas war started on October 7, American troops have been attacked over 50 times in Iraq and Syria, as per the Pentagon.

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KH behind a spate of attacks on US & partners

On Friday, the US Treasury Department said in a statement that it sanctioned six individuals affiliated with Kata’ib Hizballah and the leader of another pro-Iranian group in Iraq which Washington said was also involved in attacks against US troops.

"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," the statement said.

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Also read: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on surprise visit to Iraq, condemns attacks on American troops

"The US Department of State is also designating Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) and KSS leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji. KSS, another Iraq-based IAMG that receives support from the IRGC, has planned and been involved in attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria," it added. 

The KH was previously designated by the State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2009 for having been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against American and Iraqi government targets in Iraq, many on behalf of the Government of Iran and the IRGC-QF. 

Who are the individuals sanctioned?

The six individuals who have been sanctioned are - Imad Naji al-Bahadli (member of KH's governing Shura Council), Habib Hasan Mughamis Darraji (KH's foreign affairs chief), Ja’afar al-Husayni (KH's media spokesperson), Khalid Kadhim Jasim al-Skeni (Senior KH military commander), Basim Mohammad Hasab al-Majidi (KH's commercial development chief) and Mojtaba Jahandust - an IRGC-QF official who facilitates the travel and training of KH fighters in Iran. 

 "...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 per cent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked," the Treasury Department also said in its statement. 

(With inputs from agencies)