Akram al-Kaabi

Akram Abbas al-Ka'abi (Arabic: أكرم الكعبي; born 17 July 1977) is the founder and Secretary-General of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN) in Iraq.[1] Kaabi is a U.S.-designated terrorist who is regarded as one of the main operatives of IRGC's Quds Force in Iraq. He has been an ardent supporter and promoter of Iranian influence in Iraq while being the most outspoken critic of American military presence as he seeks to compel U.S. forces to withdraw completely from Iraq.[2]

Akram al-Kaabi
أكرم الكعبي
Secretary-General of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
Assumed office
2013
Personal details
Born (1977-07-17) 17 July 1977
Amarah, Ba'athist Iraq
Military service
Allegiance Iraq
Branch/serviceMahdi Army
Popular Mobilization Forces
UnitHarakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
Battles/warsIraq War
Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)

Kaabi's militia Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba emerged in 2013 as an offshoot of the Iraqi Shi'ite militia group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq.[3]

History
Akram al-Kaabi had said that after the defeat of ISIS in Mosul, his forces would leave Iraq for Syria.[4]

Al-Kaabi was born in 1977 in the city of Amarah, a Shi'ite city in southern Iraq. He studied religion in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, where he was a student of Ayatollah Muhammad-Sadiq al-Sadr. Afterwards he went on to serve as an imam at a mosque in the city of Musayyib. In 2003, al-Kaabi joined the Sadrist Mahdi Army, where he planned and led attacks against Iraqi and U.S.-led Coalition forces with training and funding from Iran's Quds Force. He left the Mahdi Army in 2008 and later became the deputy leader of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq.[1] In an interview with Long War Journal, al-Kaabi stated he would overthrow the Iraqi government if ordered by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.[5] Al-Kaabi formed HHN militia in 2013 in response to the rise of ISIS in Syria, calling for Iraqi Shi'ite militias to travel to Syria and fight on behalf of the Assad regime.

Sanctions

On 16 September 2008, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Akram al-Kaabi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) "for threatening the peace and stability of Iraq." The sanction is based on Executive Order 13438 and al-Kaabi was placed on OFAC's SDN List.[6][7]

On 5 March 2019, the U.S. Department of State designated al-Kaabi as an international terrorist under the counterterrorism authority Executive Order 13224 due to his involvement in carrying out attacks against Coalition forces and innocent Iraqi citizens.[1]

Notes
  1. "Akram Al-Kaabi". Counter Extremism Project. 30 January 2020.
  2. "Akram al-Kaabi: Iranian-Backed Militia Leader Threatens American Presence in Iraq". Jamestown. 4 November 2020.
  3. "Iraq's Shiite forces claim victory over IS". Al-Monitor. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  4. "Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia Group Launches New Brigade to "Liberate" Golan Heights". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  5. "Iraqi Shiite militia leader says he would overthrow government if ordered by Iran's supreme leader | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org.
  6. "Treasury Designates Individuals and Entities Fueling Violence in Iraq". treasury.gov. 16 September 2008. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011.
  7. "Sanctions List Search - Akram al-Kaabi". sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov.


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