Amid tensions surrounding the second round of ceasefire talks with the Islamic Republic in Pakistan, the US announced a bounty on the leader of an Iran-backed armed Shiite group of Iraq on April 24, 2026. The US Department of State, through its Diplomatic Security Service’s Rewards for Justice Programme, announced a reward of up to USD 10 million for information leading to the identification or location of Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, alias Abu Ala al Wa’eli, the Secretary General of Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS or Battalion of the Master of Martyrs), a Shia Iraqi paramilitary group formed in 2013.

The State Department has alleged that KSS forces have been carrying out attacks on multiple US bases in West Asia since the launch of the Pentagon‘s Operation Epic Fury against Iran on February 28, 2026. However, political analysts are of the opinion that the US has made the announcement in order to encourage Iraq to appoint a new Prime Minister who could take necessary steps to rein in the militias.

Alongside the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and Ashab al-Kahf (People of the Cave), KSS is also one of the Iraq-based Shia armed groups. These Iraqi outfits are key components of Tehran-led Axis of Resistance as they act alongside Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis to counter US and Israeli influence in West Asia. It may be noted that the Pentagon formed the PMF, comprising various militia groups, to eliminate the Islamic State (IS) from Iraqi soil, following the fall of Mosul in 2014. KSS was one of the key partners of that anti-IS coalition.

Now, Washington DC has described KSS as an Iran-aligned armed group in Iraq, accusing the outfit of killing innocent Iraqi civilians, attacking US diplomatic facilities, and targeting US military bases and personnel in both Iraq and Syria. The Donald Trump Administration has issued a statement, mentioning that individuals with information on al Wa’eli could submit tips through its Tor reporting line or via encrypted messaging on Signal. It added that eligible informants might qualify for relocation and financial rewards.

The US considers al Wa’eli one of the 12 major Shiite political figures, involved in the decision-making process related to the formation of the Government of Iraq and issues concerning the Shia political bloc. He attends meetings of the Coordination Framework, the main alliance of Shia political forces in Iraq, on a regular basis. KSS took part in Iraq’s current parliamentary term through the State of Law Coalition led by Nouri al-Maliki, as the outfit currently holds four seats in the Parliament. In 2023, the US placed both al Wa’eli and KSS on its terrorism list.

al Wa’eli previously announced his support of the Houthi Movement, stating that KSS was a faction of the Yemeni group in the past. KSS, which follows the direction from the Quds Force (IRGC-QF), the elite IRGC military unit that coordinates Tehran’s support to its foreign proxies, expanded its presence in Iraq after ISIS swept through the country in 2014.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das