Abu Fadak: Iraqi terrorist who works for Iran wanted by US

Aya Ezz

On Wednesday, January 13, the US Treasury announced the imposition of new sanctions on three individuals and 16 entities in Iran, and among those listed was the name of the Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Abu Fadak Al-Mohammadawi.

Strong relationships

According to Anbar News, Abu Fadak is Abdulaziz Al-Muhammadawi. He has several kinetic titles, including “Uncle” and “Abu Hamid”. He has been associated with strong relations with Tehran’s leaders since the early 1980s.

According to the same newspaper, he is the former Secretary General of Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq and a member of the Shura Council of the terrorist militia since 2003. He is the main person responsible for establishing the Special Operations units in the militia, and he also led many battles in Syria and Iraq.

According to a report by the BBC, although he was not accepted among the leaders of the PMF, after he was nominated as Chief of Staff of the PMF to succeed Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis after the latter was assassinated with Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani on January 3, 2020.

Pivotal role

According to the same report by the BBC, Abu Fadak has lived in hiding for the past three decades, and his name did not appear after 2003, despite his pivotal and main role in the attacks that targeted the American presence in Iraq.

He had also anticipated an appearance in Baghdad after a demonstration that had mobilized militias in late 2019 in protest against the American presence.

Abu Fadak is accused of committing murder and intimidation against activists and demonstrators of the protest movement that erupted more than a year ago denouncing the corruption of the militias and their power over the political and sovereign decision in Iraq.

Abu Fadak was the first person to receive Soleimani during the past battles before he was killed, at his large residence in Jurf al-Sakhr, which overlooked a private prison for Kata’ib Hezbollah, where investigations are conducted with the detainees under the supervision of Mohammadawi personally, according to Anbar News.

According to the same newspaper, during the past months, an incident took place between Abu Fadak and the Ali al-Akbar Brigade, which nearly developed into an armed conflict, had it not been for the intervention of Abd al-Mahdi al-Karbalai at the time. The conflict broke out because of weapons belonging to ISIS, and Mohammadawi insisted on receiving those weapons.