ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States on Monday designated Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA), an Iran-backed armed group and part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, and its secretary-general as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” The HAAA was formed in 2014 as a brigade of the government-linked Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and has been accused of threatening and targeting American interests in Iraq and Syria. The group was also allegedly involved in kidnapping and killing of protesters during the 2019 Tishreen movement. The US State Department claimed that HAAA was involved in the January drone attack on an American military base in Jordan, which killed three service members and injured 34 others, adding that the group has “publicly threatened” to continue attacking US interests in the region “The United States remains committed to using all available tools to counter Iran’s support for terrorism and to degrade and disrupt the ability of Iran-backed groups to conduct terrorist attacks,” read a statement attributed to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. Haydar Muzhir Ma’lak al-Sa’idi (aka Haider Ibrahim al-Gharawi), secretary-general of the HAAA, was also included in the designation. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups affiliated with the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has claimed responsibility for over 100 attacks targeting US interests in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, condemning Washington’s unwavering support for Israel in its war against the Gaza Strip. The group claimed responsibility for the drone strike on an American military base in Jordan in January. Ahmad Mohsen Faraj al-Hamidawi (aka Abu Hussein), secretary-general of the pro-Iran, US-designated terrorist group Kataib Hezbollah, referred to the HAAA as one of the main elements of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, in a statement in November.
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