Groups · Iraqi Shia militia
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
Overview
State: "Established in 2013, HAN has openly pledged its loyalties to Iran and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the group is a leading member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI)". (state.gov)
IRGC Qods Force in US Documents
Iran supports HAN both militarily and logistically, and the group had close ties withIran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force’s (IRGC-QF) former commander Qasem Soleimani
From MEF Research
Nujaba emerged from Asaib Ahl al Haq (AAH) in 2013 (AAH was itself a split from the Sadrists).
Leaders
Names, titles and roles exactly as given in US designation documents. Titles reflect the date of the document and may be out of date.
| Name (OFAC Spelling) | Role as Stated | On SDN List Since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL-KABI, Arkam 'Abbas | 2008-09-16 | OFAC record · state.gov | |
| HUTHELE, Nasr Mohsen Ali | 2025-06-12 | OFAC record |
History
- 2013 State: HAN was established in 2013. (state.gov)
- 2019-03-05 HARAKAT AL-NUJABA added to the OFAC SDN List. (OFAC SDN record 26446)
- 2019-03-15 Federal Register notice: State designated Harakat al-Nujaba a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. (federalregister.gov)
- 2025-08-01 Federal Register notice: State designated Kata'ib al-Imam Ali and Nasr Mohsen Ali Huthele Specially Designated Global Terrorists. (federalregister.gov)
- 2025-09-17 State announced the FTO designations of Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Kata'ib al-Imam Ali; they took effect on Federal Register publication, September 18, 2025 (90 FR 45097). (state.gov)
- 2025-09-18 Federal Register notice: State designated Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Kata'ib al-Imam Ali Foreign Terrorist Organizations. (federalregister.gov)
Designations
| Date | Record | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-18 | Federal Register notice | Foreign Terrorist Organization Designations of Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata'ib al-Imam Ali (90 FR 45097) | federalregister.gov |
| 2025-09-17 | State Department release | State announced the FTO designations of Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Kata'ib al-Imam Ali; they took effect on Federal Register publication, September 18, 2025 (90 FR 45097). | state.gov |
| 2025-08-01 | Federal Register notice | Specially Designated Global Terrorist Designations of Kata'ib al-Imam Ali and Nasr Mohsen Ali Huthele (90 FR 36274) | federalregister.gov |
| 2025-08-01 | State Department release | State designated Kata'ib al-Imam Ali and Nasr Mohsen Ali Huthele Specially Designated Global Terrorists. | federalregister.gov |
| 2019-03-15 | Federal Register notice | Designation of Harakat al-Nujaba, aka Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, aka Movement of the Noble Ones Hezbollah, aka The Movement of the Noble Ones, aka Golan Liberation Brigade, aka Ammar ibn Yasir Brigade, aka Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba Brigade, aka al-Hamad Brigade, aka al-Nujaba TV as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (84 FR 9585) | federalregister.gov |
| 2019-03-15 | State Department release | State designated Harakat al-Nujaba a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. | federalregister.gov |
| 2019-03-05 | OFAC SDN List entry | HARAKAT AL-NUJABA: programs SDGT, FTO; on the SDN List since 2019-03-05 (OFAC enhanced list date). | OFAC SDN record 26446 |
Activity
- 0 attacks and clashes
- 1 money and logistics event
- 4 counteractions
| Date | Type | Groups | Place | Summary | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-17 | Money and logistics | Kata'ib Hezbollah, al-Nujaba, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada | Iraq (country named most often in the release) | Treasury sanctions action; the release names Kata'ib Hezbollah, al-Nujaba, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada. | US Treasury press release |
| 2025-09-17 | Counteractions | al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, Kata'ib al-Imam Ali | Washington, D.C. (designation) | State announced the FTO designations of Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and Kata'ib al-Imam Ali; they took effect on Federal Register publication, September 18, 2025 (90 FR 45097). | State |
| 2025-08-01 | Counteractions | Kata'ib al-Imam Ali, al-Nujaba | Washington, D.C. (Federal Register notice) | State designated Kata'ib al-Imam Ali and Nasr Mohsen Ali Huthele Specially Designated Global Terrorists. | Federal Register 90 FR 36274 |
| 2024-01-04 | Counteractions | al-Nujaba | Iraq | A US self-defense strike killed Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari (Abu Taqwa), a Harakat al-Nujaba leader, and another group member. | DoD |
| 2019-03-15 | Counteractions | al-Nujaba | Washington, D.C. (Federal Register notice) | State designated Harakat al-Nujaba a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. | Federal Register 84 FR 9585 |
MEF Coverage
MEF-written articles in the local meforum.org archive that mention this group (61 shown; the archive covers 2004-09-01 to 2026-08-28).
- Baghdad Cannot Disarm Militias If It Fears Confrontation
- Inside the Houthi Network in Iraq
- The U.S.-Iran Pause Didn’t Stop Tehran’s Drone War, and This Worries Israel
- Supporters of Shia Army that Killed Hundreds of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq Distribute Food in Nation’s Capital
- How Should Trump Respond to the Missile Strike at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad?
- Will Iraqi Militias Help the Iranian Regime to Survive?
- Iran’s Shadow Empire: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp’s Military Infrastructure in Syria
- At MEF’s Urging, U.S. Designates Iran-Backed Iraqi Militias as Terrorists
- Can Israeli Strikes in Syria Undermine Iran-Backed Militias?
- The Reason Behind the Houthis and Shi'ite Militias Threatening Saudi Arabia
- A World without the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Biden's Iran Policy Has Backfired
- 'The Islamic Resistance in Iraq'- A Brief Overview and Analysis
- Tehran's Russian Connection
- Iran Digs Deep in Hollowed-Out Syria
- Shia Militias Threaten US, Israel in Iraq
- The War for the Future of Syria and Iraq Will Be Fought on Smartphones
- Middle East Insider, July 29, 2020
- Middle East Insider, May 26, 2020
- Assessing the US Strategy in Iraq
- Pro-Iranian Militias in Iraq Debate Best Way to Defeat US
- The Situation in Iraq: Policy Implications for the West
- Secret Airstrike Destroys Iran's Albukamal Base
- Is Iran behind Rocket Attack that Killed US-led Coalition Forces in Iraq?
- After Soleimani, Iran Sends Shamkhani to Iraq to Take Control
- Who Is Attacking American Troops in Iraq?
- Increasing Evidence of Iran's Role in Crackdown on Protests in Iraq
- Understanding Iran's Centrifuge Diplomacy
- Iran's Confused Response to Iraq Strikes
- Backgrounder: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
- Drones, Shi'ite militias at Heart of Iranian Threat to Israel
- Iran's Allies in Iraq Face Complex Choice amid Increasing 'Airstrikes'
- Could US Forces Be Targeted amid Iran-Israel Tensions in Iraq?
- Suspected Israeli Strikes in Iraq Raise Fears of Escalation in Iran Proxy Fight
- Iraq's De-militiafication Is a Sham
- A U.S.-Iran War Will Not Be Fought Only in Iran
- Iranian-backed Militias in Iraq May Have Used Drones against Saudi
- Military Options for Targeting Iran without Ground Forces
- Whodunit? The Rocket Fired Near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
- Evidence Grows that Iran is Stationing Missiles Directed at Israel
- Iran Wants America Out of Iraq - Will it Succeed?
- Iran Is Making a Play to Outmaneuver the United States in Iraq
- Iran's 'Road to the Sea' Exposed on Golan
- Iranian-Backed Militias Threaten U.S. Forces in Iraq
- Iraqis Protest Growing Iranian Influence in the Country
- How the U.S. Could Lose Iraq to Creeping Iranian Influence
- This Is How America Will Revise Its Approach to Iran
- Congress's NDAA Gave Trump a Green Light to Confront Iran
- Iran in Syria: "Cognitive Empathy" and Interests
- Israel Prepares for War in Syria against Iran
- The U.S.-Iranian confrontation on the Syria-Iraq Borders: Interview with an Iraqi Militia Official
- The 'Martyrs' of Liwa al-Sayyida Ruqayya (The Ja'afari Force)
- The Local Defence Forces: Regime Auxiliary Forces in Aleppo
- Loss of Palmyra Reveals Islamic State Weakness
- Syrian Insurgent Factions of North Latakia
- Is Assad's Russian-Backed Offensive in Syria Paying Off?
- New Mobilization Calls By the Islamic State in Aleppo Province
- Liwa al-Sayyida Ruqayya: Recruiting the Shi'a of Damascus
- Research on the Islamic State
- The Return of Iraqi Shi'i Militias to Syria