Formed after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of Iraq's elite armed factions closest to Iran.
It is the most powerful armed faction in the Iraqi Islamic Resistance – a group of hardline Shiite militias that have carried out more than 150 attacks on US forces since the conflict in Gaza began.
After its formation, the group quickly became known for deadly attacks on military and diplomatic targets in the 2000s, using a mix of sniper attacks, rockets, mortars and roadside bombs. In 2009, the US listed the group as a terrorist organization.
Fighters from Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia stand at the site of a US airstrike in Hilla, Iraq on December 26, 2023. Photo: Reuters
Kataib Hezbollah was led by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a dual Iraqi-Iranian citizen, until he was killed along with Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike at Baghdad International Airport in 2020.
Kataib Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim group like Iran. It views US troops in Iraq as foreign occupiers and has strongly called for their expulsion.
Along with other Shiite Muslim armed groups, the group fought against mainly Sunni rebels in Syria's civil war and has continued to operate in Syria since.
A group with no public leadership structure, Kataib Hezbollah has thousands of fighters and an arsenal of drones, rockets and short-range ballistic missiles, Iraqi officials and group members say.
The US has repeatedly attacked Kataib Hezbollah positions, bases, training centers and logistics centers over the years. Most recently on January 24, the US struck key Kataib Hezbollah targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for drone and missile attacks.
Kataib Hezbollah formed several battalions within Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the state's paramilitary organization. Fighters receive state salaries and Kataib Hezbollah members hold senior positions within the PMF.
Although under the command of the Iraqi prime minister as part of the PMF, the group often operates outside the chain of command and has challenged Iraqi government statements calling for an end to attacks on US forces.
The group is widely believed to have formed a political party for the first time in the 2021 elections, winning several seats in the Iraqi parliament.
Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)
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