Baghdad – March 2026

Kataib Hezbollah, one of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed militias, announced Monday the death of its security chief and longtime spokesperson, Abu Ali al-Askari, describing him as a “martyr.” The group did not disclose the location, date, or exact circumstances of his killing, but the statement came amid intensified U.S. and Israeli operations targeting pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the third week of the ongoing war on Iran.

Askari, a prominent figure in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) network, had issued repeated threats against the United States and Israel for more than a decade. He gained wider attention after the 2014 rise of the PMF and frequently defended attacks on U.S. interests and infrastructure in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region as part of the so-called “Islamic Resistance in Iraq.”

The militia is formally integrated into Iraq’s state security apparatus but has long operated with significant autonomy and strong ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Kataib Hezbollah has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States since 2009.