State Department announces reward for info on Kata'ib Hezbollah leader
The State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced Tuesday it would pay out up to $10 million for information on Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the leader of Kata'ib Hezbollah -- a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization closely aligned with Lebanese Hezbollah that is considered to be the most powerful militia in Iraq.
The department said al-Hamidawi directed Kata'ib Hezbollah attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities last month, and that for years the group has "repeatedly targeted U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq with IEDs, rockets, and unmanned aircraft systems, kidnapped U.S. citizens, and killed innocent Iraqi civilians."
Al-Hamidawi received "political, military, and intelligence training from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," the release stated.
Kata’ib Hezbollah recently admitted to kidnapping American freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson and detaining her for a week before ultimately freeing her in a prisoner exchange with Iraqi authorities.
-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston






