Kataib Hezbollah

US State Dept. offers $10m. reward for Hamidawi, leader of Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia

The US State Department offered up to $10 million for information on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, leader of Kataib Hezbollah, responsible for deadly attacks on US facilities and the kidnapping of US citizens.

|ByJAMES GENN
Mourners march in the funeral of a Kataib Hezbollah terrorist after a US airstrike on a Popular Mobilization Forces headquarters near the Iraq-Syria border, pictured in Baghdad, March 2, 2026.
US JOURNALIST Shelly Kittleson is pictured in Baghdad on March 31, shortly before she was abducted. Her disappearance has focused attention on the threat posed by Iran-backed militias and the deteriorating security environment in postwar Iraq.

Iraq’s militia state: Shelly Kittleson’s kidnapping exposes who runs Baghdad

BEHIND THE LINES: Since October 2023, forces associated with the PMF – that is, affiliated with the government of Iraq – engaged in ongoing attacks against US personnel and positions.

|ByJONATHAN SPYER
US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026.

Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah to release abducted American journalist Shelly Kittleson

Middle East news site Al-Monitor said Kittleson was a US freelance journalist based in Rome who had covered several wars in the region and had contributed articles to the outlet.

|ByREUTERS
Members of the Hashd al-Shaabi gather in Basra, southern Iraq, to hold a memorial ceremony for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, carrying Khamenei posters and Hashd al-Shaabi and Kataib Hezbollah flags while chanting slogans in support of Iran on March 08, 2026.

Iranian-backed militia in Iraq sends mixed messages about new attacks - analysis

Kataib Hezbollah said it might pause attacks on US targets in Iraq, but its strict and unlikely conditions suggest strikes could resume soon.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah threatens escalation if Blinken visits Baghdad

A senior leader of Kataib Hezbollah warned that Blinken, who they referred to as "son of a Jew," was not welcome in Iraq.

NOVEMBER 5, 2023ByTZVI JOFFRE
A member of Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary forces) holds a flag of Kataib Hezbollah militia group during a protest to condemn air strikes on their bases, outside the main gate of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq December 31, 2019.

Iran-backed militia threatens UAE, Kuwait in response to Israel-Hamas war

Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have upped their threats against the US and Israel amid the ongoing war.

OCTOBER 24, 2023ByTZVI JOFFRE
Members of the 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, board a C-17 Globemaster III to forward deploy to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia in support of exercise Agile Lightning from Al Dhafra Air Base, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Reports of airstrikes in Syria at sensitive time for Iran axis - analysis

Iran wants to create instability and a power vacuum in eastern Syria and then to fill the vacuum

OCTOBER 3, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad attend a joint press conference, in Tehran, Iran July 31, 2023.

Israeli Jewish woman remains kidnapped in Iraq as Iraqi PM at UNGA 

Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped six months ago in Baghdad.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in Iraq earlier this year by Iranian-backed terrorist group Kataib Hezbollah.