The United States has announced a $10 million (Rs 94,11,00,000) reward for any information that could lead to the arrest of Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, aka Abu Waala al Wa’eli, the leader of an Iran-aligned “terrorist group” in Iraq. Wa’eli is the US-designated secretary-general of Kata’ib Sayyid al Shuhada (KSS), an Iraqi militia supported by and ideologically aligned with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The announcement came as the US ratcheted up pressure on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq to encourage Baghdad to appoint a new prime minister who might finally decide to do more to rein in the militias.
Over the past decade, the militias have carried out attacks against US forces and diplomats in Iraq. During the ongoing war in Iran, the militias have increased their attacks, carrying out almost 1,000 strikes, including against Saudi Arabia.
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What US Said
The statement from the US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice programme said the group was responsible for killing Iraqi civilians and attacking US diplomatic facilities and personnel in Iraq and Syria. Those providing information “could be eligible for relocation and a reward”, the State Department said.
Wa’eli has previously announced his support of the Houthi movement and has stated in the past that KSS is a faction of the terror group, according to the information on Counter Extremism Project.
Given KSS’s activities in advancing Iran’s interests in the region and their ongoing campaign against US forces in Iraq and Syria, the US Department of State designated Wa’eli as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on November 17, 2023.
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Who Is Abu Waala al Wa’eli
Before he joined KSS, Wa’eli was a member of Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), a US-designated anti-American Shiite militia operating in Iraq with ancillary operations in Syria.
His terror activities as a KH member reportedly led to his arrest and imprisonment in the US until he was released in 2010. At the outset of Syria’s civil war in the early 2010s, KH members from the militia’s Abu Hussein and Abu Fadak wings went on to form KSS, with Wa’eli joining their ranks.
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KSS expanded its presence in Iraq after ISIS swept through the country in 2014. Its fighters belong to the 14th Brigade of the Popular Mobilisation Committee (PMC), a component of Iraq’s security forces.
KSS follows the direction from the Quds Force (IRGC-QF), the elite IRGC military unit that coordinates Iran’s support to its foreign terrorist proxies. Wa’eli’s proximity to senior leaders within Iran’s elite IRGC-QF suggests KSS serves a pivotal role in Iran’s operations across Syria and Iraq.