The US government is offering $10 million for information on an Iranian-backed militia leader. It is the third reward the US has offered in recent weeks. The latest reward is for information about Haydar al-Gharawi, also known as Haydar Muzhir Malak al-Saidi. He is the head of Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, one of a dozen important Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.
On April 24, the United States also offered a $10m. reward for Hishim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji, known as Abu Ala al-Walai, the head of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, an Iraqi paramilitary group.
The Rewards For Justice Program of the US Department of State posted a notice seeking information on Gharawi. It said that members of his group “have attacked US diplomatic facilities in Iraq, as well as US military bases and personnel in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, killing US service members.”
The X/Twitter post requested that anyone with information about Gharawi “send it to us” via a tipline or Signal. “You could be eligible for relocation and a reward,” the post said.
The US had said the same thing on April 24 when offering millions for information on the head of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada. On April 14, America also offered $10m. for information on the head of Kataib Hezbollah: “Innocent civilians killed. US citizens kidnapped. Facilities attacked. Up to $10 million for info on Ahmad al-Hamidawi. Help us stop the violence. Help us stop al-Hamidawi. Send us your tip,” the request read.
Many of these groups have already been labeled as terrorists and sanctioned by the US over the past decades. Back in June 2024, the US Department of State “designated Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA) and HAAA Secretary General Haydar Muzhir Ma’lak al-Sa’idi as Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” the US said.
It added at the time that the group was an “Iraq-based Iran-aligned militia group and part of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI).”
The US defines the IRI as “a front group that includes multiple Iran-aligned terrorist and militia groups, including US-designated terrorist organizations Kataib Hezballah, Harakat al-Nujaba, and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, that have repeatedly attacked Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria.” Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for the attack on US forces in Jordan in January 2024, as well as the kidnapping of American journalist Shelly Kittelson in 2026 and of Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov in 2025.
Awfiya is one of many Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. These are linked to the Iraqi paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces. Awfiya runs the PMF’s 19th Brigade. Other factions tied to the same Iranian-backed milieu include Kataib al-Imam Ali, Ashab al-Kahf, Badr, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
In September 2025, the US Department of State designated four Iraqi militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The four groups were Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kataib al-Imam Ali. The announcement noted that they had been previously named Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
In 2020, the US killed the head of Kataib Hezbollah, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport. Muhandis was in the same car as Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian IRGC Quds Force, who was also killed.
The US has increased pressure on the militias
The US has increased pressure on the militias. During the recent conflict with Iran, the militias launched hundreds of attacks on US facilities in Iraq, especially targeting the US Embassy and diplomatic posts. There were more than 800 attacks on the Kurdistan Region, and the militias attacked the Gulf States and appeared to have targeted Jordan.
Many militia bases were also hit with airstrikes; the militias have blamed Israel and the US for the strikes.
The militia leaders have not appeared worried about the US’s prices on their heads. Days after Hamidawi’s reward was announced, he went for a walk in public in Karbala. Walai also appeared at a meeting in Baghdad days after his reward was announced. The US is increasingly frustrated with the leadership in Baghdad under Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Iraq appears to be completely captured by Iranian influence.
Source:
www.jpost.com
