The US Treasury Department announced the designation of seven high-level members of Iran-backed Iraqi militias as Specially Designated Global Terrorists on April 17. Their organizations are previously US-designated terror groups that, operating under front groups, have conducted numerous attacks on the US presence in Iraq since the start of the war with Iran on February 28.
On September 17, the US State Department designated four Iran-backed Iraqi militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). These groups, previously listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), have received support from the regime in Tehran and attacked US forces and interests in Iraq and across the Middle East.
The State Department’s latest terrorist designations include a Hizballah operative who serves as the “Chief of Hizballah Unit 200” and the Balochistan Liberation Army, which targets Pakistani forces and civilians. State also amended its previous designation of Jundallah, which targets Iranian forces, to include Jaysh al-Adl as an alias for the group.
Jihadists and Islamists in Syria have denounced the US government’s decision to designate Katibat Imam al Bukhari (KIB) as a terrorist organization. The KIB’s own statement on the designation includes misleading claims and some of those defending the group have their own al Qaeda links.