U.S. offers $10 million for info on Hizballah commander in Iraq Kawtharani

Aya Ezz

The United States announced on Friday a 10 million-dollar reward for any information about of Muhammad Kawtharani, a Lebanese Hizballah commander accused of playing a key role in coordinating pro-Iran groups in Iraq.

Kawtharani is a senior official of the Lebanese Shiite movement in Iraq, “and has taken over some of the political coordination of Iran-aligned paramilitary groups formerly organized by Qassim Suleimani,” the US State Department said in a statement.

According to Washington, Kawtharani, already on the US blacklist for terrorism since 2013, “facilitates the actions of groups operating outside the control of the Government of Iraq that have violently suppressed protests” or “attacked foreign diplomatic missions”.

The State Department, which considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization, added that the official promoted the interests of the group in Iraq by participating in “training, funding, political and logistical support” of Shiite insurgent groups.

Hizballah is a Lebanon-based terrorist organization that receives weapons, training, and funding from Iran, which the Secretary of State designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1984.

Hizballah generates about a billion dollars a year from a combination of direct financial support from Iran, international businesses and investments, donor networks, and money laundering activities.

Kawtharani has both an Iraqi and a Lebanese citizenship, according to the U.S. government Kawtharani assisted in the transport of fighters from Iraq to Syria to support the Assad regime. Kawtharani also helped secure the release of senior Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq from Iraqi custody in 2012.

After the death of Quds Force leader Suleimani in a U.S. airstrike on January 3, 2020, Hezbollah has taken responsibility for liaising between Iran and the Iraqi militias. As Hezbollah’s representative in Iraq and a trusted colleague of Suleimani’s, Kawtharani has taken on the role himself.

According to the U.S. government Kawtharani assisted in the transport of fighters from Iraq to Syria to support the Assad regime. Kawtharani also helped secure the release of senior Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq from Iraqi custody in 2012.

The U.S.-designated Duqduq planned multiple attacks against coalition forces in Iraq, including a January 20, 2007, attack that killed five U.S. soldiers. The United States opposed Daqduq’s release.