The United States imposed sanctions on Friday on six people affiliated with the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataeb Hezbollah, accused of carrying out a series of attacks recently on American forces in Iraq and Syria following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Those sanctioned include the militia’s foreign affairs chief, a member of its ruling council, its military commander and a press spokesperson.
Under the sanctions, they will not have access to property or bank accounts nor will they be able to do business with Americans.
A series of drone strikes hit US bases in Iraq including on Friday, as regional tensions rise during the bloody war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Two US defense officials confirmed that there were three additional attacks on US military facilities in Iraq and Syria on Friday, bringing the total number of attacks in Iraq and Syria to about 60.
The three facilities attacked until Friday were the Al Harir air base in Erbil, with a drone, where there were no victims, but the damage to the infrastructure was being assessed; the Al Asad air base, in Iraq, with several drones, which caused no casualties or damage, and Tall Baydar in Syria, with a drone, which caused minor injuries to a soldier who was able to return to activity, one of the officials said.
Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have threatened to attack US facilities because of their support for Israel.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control notes that Kataeb Hezbollah has the support of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The US State Department has designated it a terrorist organization.
Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said the United States is “fully committed to security and stability in the Middle East and remains steadfast in our efforts to disrupt these destabilizing activities.”
