The United States has placed a $10 million bounty on Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, also known as Abu Alaa al-Walai, the leader of Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia. The U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice programme announced the offer on Thursday, citing the group's attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities, military bases, and personnel in Iraq and Syria, as well as its role in killing Iraqi civilians. Individuals with credible information on al-Saraji's location may receive the reward and be eligible for relocation. This marks the second such bounty in weeks, following a similar $10 million offer for Ahmad Al Hamidawi, leader of Kataeb Hezbollah, after the group kidnapped American journalist Shelly Kittleson in Baghdad in March and held her for a week. The U.S. accuses Iran-aligned militias of escalating attacks beyond Iraq, including drone strikes reaching Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials recently stated that over half of 1,000 drone attacks on the kingdom originated from Iraqi territory. In response, the U.S. has suspended security cooperation with Iraq and halted dollar transfers from Iraqi oil revenue to pressure Baghdad into curbing militia activities.
The U.S. is targeting Iranian-backed militia leaders with bounties while simultaneously punishing the Iraqi government through financial and security cuts, yet offers no clarity on how ordinary Iraqis affected by militia violence or economic suspensions will be protected. Iraqi civilians caught between militia attacks and U.S. pressure tactics now face worsening instability without any stated safeguards. The dual approach risks deepening the country's crisis without addressing who bears the cost of Washington's strategy.
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