The US State Department's Rewards for Justice (RFJ) on Tuesday offered a reward of up to USD 10 million for information on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the leader of the powerful Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite militia, Kataib Hezbollah (KH).
RFJ described KH as an "Iranian-aligned terrorist group, responsible for attacks on US diplomatic facilities in Iraq, the kidnapping of US citizens, and the killing of innocent Iraqi civilians."
Hamidawi's face had not been published in any official documents until RFJ's recent X/Twitter post, according to Middle East analysts.
One such US citizen kidnapped by the terror group was Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad in March, before being released by KH following the announcement of a ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Elizabeth Tsurkov, who had also been held captive by the terror militia, described Hamidawi as being "responsible for the death of thousands of innocent Iraqis and Syrians, Sunni civilians and Shia Iraqi protesters."
KH is one of the most powerful Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. On January 3, 2020, then-KH chief Abu Ali al-Muhandis was escorting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force archterrorist Qasem Soleimani when they were both killed in a US airstrike near Baghdad airport, ordered by US President Donald Trump.
Kataib Hezbollah threatens Israel, shoots drones at US-aligned facilities
In January, the terror group put out a statement preparing its supporters for conflict with Israel.
The group, along with other Iran-backed Iraqi militias, was responsible for repeated drone attacks on US and pro-US facilities across Iraq during Operation Epic Fury from February until early April.