US offers $10m for information on Hezbollah commander in Iraq
The United States has offered up to $10m for information on
Hezbollah commander Sheikh Mohammad al-Kawtharani, who was an associate of
slain Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
Kawtharani was branded a "global terrorist" by the
US in 2013, accused of funding armed groups in Iraq and helping transport Iraqi
fighters to Syria to join President Bashar al-Assad's effort to put down a
revolt against his rule.
Announcing the reward, the US State Department said
Kawtharani had "taken over some of the political coordination of
Iran-aligned paramilitary groups" formerly organised by Soleimani, an
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander assassinated in a US drone strike
in Baghdad in January.
"In this capacity, he facilitates the actions of groups
operating outside the control of the Government of Iraq that have violently
suppressed protests, attacked foreign diplomatic missions, and engaged in
wide-spread organised criminal activity," it said in a statement.
The State Department said it was offering the sum for
information on Kawtharani's activities, networks and associates as part of an
effort to disrupt the "financial mechanisms" of the Lebanon-based
Hezbollah.
The US has blamed Iran-backed armed groups for several
attacks on its bases in Iraq.
Reuters reported in February that, according to two Iraqi
sources and a senior Iraqi Shia Muslim leader, Kawtharani, for the time being,
was seen as the most suitable figure to direct Iraqi militias until a permanent
Iranian successor could be chosen, although he did not have Soleimani's clout.
"Kawtharani has connections with the militia
groups," the Shia leader said. "He was trusted by Soleimani, who used
to depend and call on him to help him in crises and in meetings in
Baghdad."
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