This article is about the Iraqi Shia paramilitary. For the Lebanese Shia party and paramilitary, seeHezbollah. For the Lebanese right-wing party, seeKataeb Party.
Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH;Arabic:كتائب حزب الله,lit.'Battalions of the Party of God'),[45] also known as theHezbollah Brigades, is anIraqi Shiaparamilitary group and a component of the IraqiPopular Mobilization Forces (PMF), staffing the 45th, 46th, and 47th Brigades.[46] It is considered the most powerful militia in Iraq.[47] In spite of KH being a formal part of Iraq's security apparatus through its affiliation with the Popular Mobilization Forces,[48] the Iraqi government has since 2020 actively undertaken steps to combat its influence, including by conducting raids against Kataib Hezbollah in order to disarm armed groups that refuse to be controlled by the state.[20]
The group seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel American forces from the country, and advance the regional and international interests of Iran in Iraq and the region.[citation needed]
The group is responsible for killing hundreds of U.S. soldiers and takes a central part in carrying out attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq and acts as part of theAxis of Resistance.[55][56] Kata'ib Hezbollah has received extensive training, funding, logistic support, weapons, and intelligence from theIRGC's overseas military-intelligence serviceQuds Force.[48]
Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) is officially listed as aterrorist organization by the governments of Japan,[44] the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
According Michael Knights, Crispin Smith, and Hamdi Malik writing for theWashington Institute for Near East Policy, Kataib Hezbollah functions as the “premier militia in Iraq, operating under Iran's direct command”, and is the “strongest individual faction in Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)”, with control over key departments within PMF such as its chief of staff, security, intelligence, missiles, and anti-armor. TheQuds Force of theIRGC finances, instructs, directs and controls KH, as well as provides it with military assistance, intelligence sharing, and selects, supports and supervises its leadership.[57]
KH was established in March 2003 as a result of a union of several pro-Iranian groups following theinvasion of Iraq by the United States and United Kingdom that overthrew the regime ofSaddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the next decade asan insurgency emerged to oppose the Coalition forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government.[58]
The group was founded by Jamal Jafaar al-Ibrahim, known asAbu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi-Iranian dual national designated as a terrorist by US in 2009.[59][60] Its first members were from theBadr Organization. Al-Muhandis — an adviser to theQuds Force of theIRGC and a former member of the Badr Organization — was the first commander of KH.[1][61][62] The group is directly subordinate to the Quds Force and operates under its instructions and guidance.[45][13] TheUS State Department has claimed that Lebanon-basedHezbollah provided viaUnit 3800 weapons and training for the group.[63][64][65]
The group came to prominence in 2007 for attacks againstU.S.-led Coalition forces in Iraq,[45][66] and was known for uploading videos of its attacks on American forces on the internet.[67] The militia's main tactics were to fire rockets and mortar shells atU.S. bases, sniper attacks, and plant roadside bombs to attack U.S. and Coalition forces.[68]
On 19 July 2005, U.S. Army Sgt.Arthur R. McGill was killed in Baghdad, when a makeshift bomb planted by Kata'ib Hezbollah exploded while he was on mounted patrol in a Humvee.[69][citation needed]
On 17 October 2006, four U.S. servicemembers were killed when theBuffalo MRAP they were riding in was struck by an improvised-explosive device west of Baghdad at about 6:50 a.m.[70][citation needed] The attack was captured on video and posted online by KH.[citation needed]
On 27 February 2007, three American soldiers were killed and another was wounded by a roadside bomb planted by KH militants in the Iraqi capital.[71][citation needed]
On 15 March 2007, four U.S. soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad whenIEDs planted by KH detonated near their unit.[72][citation needed]
On 18 June 2007, U.S. Army Sgt.Eric L. Snell was killed when a KH sniper shot him in the face during a firefight with KH militiamen in Baghdad.[73][citation needed]
On 25 September 2007, Staff Sgt.Zachary B. Tomczak was shot dead by a KH sniper in Baghdad. His killing was captured on video and posted online by the KH militia.[74][75]
On 4 October 2007, U.S. Army Spc.Avealalo Milo was killed by a KH sniper in Baghdad. The attack was recorded and subsequently published online by the militia.[76][77]
On 20 November 2007,Alfred G. Paredez Jr. was killed when Kata'ib Hezbollah cell members detonated an IED in al-Baladiyat neighborhood of Baghdad.[78][citation needed]
On 4 June 2008, KH conducted a rocket attack that was meant to target Coalition forces but instead killed 18 civilians in Baghdad.[79][80]
In mid-2008, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a crackdown against the group and the "Special Groups", the US military term for Iran-backed militias in Iraq. At least 30 of its members were captured during those months. Many of the group's leaders were also captured and US officials claimed that "as [a] result much of the leadership fled to Iran".[81][82]
In December 2009, the group intercepted the unencrypted video feed ofMQ-1 Predator UAVs above Iraq.[83]
On 12 February 2010, a firefight with suspected members of the group occurred 265 km (165 mi) southeast ofBaghdad in a village near the Iranian border, the U.S. military said. Twelve people were arrested, it said. "The joint security team was fired upon by individuals dispersed in multiple residential buildings ... members of the security team returned fire, killing individuals assessed to be enemy combatants," the military said in a statement. The Provincial Iraqi officials said many of the dead were innocent bystanders, and demanded compensation. They said eight people were killed.[84]
On 13 July 2010, GeneralRay Odierno named KH as being behind threats againstAmerican bases in Iraq. "In the last couple weeks there's been an increased threat ... and so we've increased our security on some of our bases," Odierno told reporters at a briefing in Baghdad.[85]
On 6 June 2011, KH militants fired rockets atForward Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad killing six U.S. soldiers.[86] Another five soldiers were also wounded in the attack.[87]
On 29 June 2011, KH firedIRAM rockets that struck a US base near the Iranian border –COP Shocker. The attack resulted in the deaths of three American soldiers.[88][89]
In July 2011, an Iraqi intelligence official estimated the group's size at 1,000 fighters and said the militants were paid between $300 and $500 per month.[90][91]
TheAl-Qa'im border crossing has seen hastened military activity as the group is expected to play an important military and security role as the crossing with Syria is officially opened on September 30, 2019.[92][93]
Wathiq al-Batat, a former KH leader, announced the creation of a new Shia militia, theMukhtar Army, on 4 February 2013, saying its aim is to defendShiites and help the government combat terrorism.[94]
In 2014, the group began taking a role in the fight against ISIL in Iraq.[50] Also in 2014, they and six other predominantly Shia Iraqi paramilitary groups formed thePMF.[95] Since October 2016, KH along with the Iraqi army and other PMF groups has taken part in theBattle of Mosul against ISIL.[96] They have been, alongside other PMF, active in fighting aroundTal Afar, severing ISIL's link from Mosul and Tal Afar to the rest of their territory.[97]
Duringprotests in Iraq in 2019, KH militiamen were reportedly involved in abducting and murdering hundreds of peaceful protesters.[98][99]
On 29 December 2019, the United Statesbombed the headquarters of KH nearAl-Qa'im.[100] The airstrikes targeted three KH locations in Iraq and two in Syria, and included weapons depots and command posts, according toReuters and a US military statement.[101] The attack was in retaliation after a barrage of over 30 rockets were fired towards theK-1 base two days earlier and other attacks on bases with US forces in Iraq. The earlier attack killed a US contractor and wounded several Iraqi and US soldiers.[102] Twenty-five people were reportedly killed in the US airstrikes and 51 members wounded.[103][104][105]
In response to the American bombing of the KH headquarters on 29 December, protestersattacked the US embassy in the Green Zone in Baghdad on 31 December 2019.[106] Many of the protesters were members of the KH militia, including KH commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.[107][106]Secretary of DefenseMark Esper warned on 2 January that the group may be planning new attacks in Iraq, and that the U.S. is prepared to launch preemptive attacks.[108]
On 27 February 2020, the U.S. State and Treasury departments designated Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the secretary-general of KH, as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist."[109]
In March 2020, U.S. launched air raids against KH facilities inKarbala in retaliation for theCamp Taji attacks.[110]
On 25 June 2020, Iraqi security forces raided KH base inDora, southernBaghdad and detained at least 14 militia members.[111]
On 11 October 2020, KH announced that they have agreed to conditional ceasefire against United States interests in Iraq.[112]
On 26 February 2021, U.S. air strikes hit targets used by the KH militia and other Iranian-backed groups in Syria.[113] These strikes were carried out in retaliation for anattack on a U.S. air base inErbil on 15 February 2021.[114]
On 21 March 2023, KH kidnapped Israeli researcherElizabeth Tsurkov in Baghdad'sKarrada district.[115][116] In November 2023, the group released footage of her for the first time.[117] Tsurkov was released on 9 September 2025.[118]
On 17 November 2023, United States expanded the scope of sanctions on KH by blacklisting six high-ranking officials affiliated with the militia following attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria.[119][120][121]
On 24 January 2024, U.S. launched a round of air strikes that targeted KH, killing seven militiamen.[124] According to a statement fromU.S. Central Command, the air strikes hit the group's “headquarters, storage, and training locations for rocket, missile, and one-way attack UAV capabilities.”[125]
A spokesperson for theUS Department of Defense has said that theTower 22 drone attack which killed 3 US soldiers and injured 47 others had the "footprints" of KH.[126]On 30 January 2024, KH announced the suspension of all its military operations against US forces in the region after theTower 22 drone attack which killed 3 US soldiers and injured 47 others. They announced this decision was taken out of preventing "embarrassment" of the Iraqi government which has called for all resistance parties to de-escalate the situation.[127]
On 30 July 2024, U.S. forces carried out an airstrike in central Iraq killing four members of KH militia.[128] Later that year, on 20 September, Kata'ib Hezbollah announced that Abu Haidar al-Khafaji, a senior commander in the group, was killed by an airstrike about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away fromSayyidah Zaynab near Damascus, Syria, and blamed Israel for the attack.[129]
In 2013, KH and other Iraqi Shia militias acknowledged sending fighters to Syria to fight alongside forces loyal to PresidentBashar al-Assad, against the Sunni rebels seeking to overthrow him in theSyrian Civil War.[51]
On 9 January 2024, the KH spokesperson Jafar al-Husseini warned that theIslamic Resistance in Iraq would helpHezbollah fight Israel if war erupted between the two sides.[130] This statement was a few weeks after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for a drone attack on aKarish rig which Lebanonclaims to hold sovereignty to.[131]
On 7 February 2024, a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed three members of KH. Among those killed wasAbu Baqir Al-Saadi, while another was tentatively identified as Arkan al-Elayawi.[132] Al–Saadi was the commander of Kataib Hezbollah's operations in Syria.[133]
In April 2024, Abu Ali al-Askari, security chief of Kata'ib Hezbollah based in Iraq, said the organisation was prepared to arm "Islamic Resistance" inJordan and is ready to provide "12,000 fighters with light and medium weapons, anti-armor launchers, tactical missiles, millions of rounds of ammunition, and tons of explosives" to "defend the Palestinians and avenge the honour of Muslims." On the same day, al-Tanf garrison in Syria was attacked by a one-way attack drone which was intercepted.[19]
^The Iraqi government is actively working to disarm Kataib Hezbollah with the help of the United States.[20] Occasional clashes and arrests have occurred.[21][22][23]
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