[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The United States on Wednesday blacklisted a senior member of Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, punishing it for its attacks targeting US forces, most recently for killing an American contractor in an Iraqi military base near the northern city of Kirkuk.The US State Department said it has designated Ahmad al-Hamidawi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), Secretary General of Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), an Iran-backed terrorist group active in Iraq and Syria, which Washington designated as terrorist organization in 2009.
"The Kata’ib Hezbollah group continues to present a threat to US forces in Iraq," Nathan Sales, the State Department’s counterterrorism coordinator, said at a news briefing. "We’re adding to the pressure that has existed on this group for a decade."