US imposes sanctions targeting Iran-backed groups in Iraq
The Treasury Department in Washington, U.S. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The United States imposed sanctions targeting the Iranian-backed group Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, accusing it of being responsible for the attacks that recently targeted US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.
The US forces and coalition forces have been subjected to at least 58 attacks in Iraq and Syria since October 17, with tension escalating in the region because of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
At least 59 US soldiers were injured in the attacks, although all of them returned to duty.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Friday that it had imposed sanctions on six people affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah, which the United States had previously classified as a foreign terrorist organization.
“Today’s action sends a message to Kataib Hezballah and all other Iran-backed groups that the United States will use all available measures to hold to account any opportunistic actors who seek to exploit the situation in Gaza for their own ends,” the US Department of the Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in a statement.
The sanctions freeze any US assets of those targeted and generally bar Americans from dealing with them, according to Reuters.
Those who engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions.