Iran-backed IMIS militia in Iraq chose Abu Fadak Al-Mohammedawi as its leader, to succeed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Muhandis was killed in a US drone attack along with Iranian
extremely dangerous commander Qassem Soleimani.
He was the secretary-general of Iran-backed Kataeb
Hezbollah which has been behind deadly attacks in Iraq against
US forces.
Known as “The Uncle” (Al-Khaal), he had previously worked with the Badr Organization in 1983. He had been wanted during the era of Saddam Hussein. He is close to Iran-backed Asaeb Ahl Al-Haq militias
He received orders from Soleimani and is reportedly behind violent acts against protesters recently, including the massacres of Al-Sinak and Al-Khullani and the attack against the US embassy in Baghdad in December.
On 29 December 2019, the United States conducted airstrikes against Kataeb Hezbollah's weapons depots and command centers in Iraq and Syria, reportedly killing at least 25 militiamen and wounding 55 more.
The US Department of Defense said the operation was in retaliation for repeated attacks on Iraqi military bases hosting Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces, particularly the 27 December 2019 attack on a Kirkuk airbase that left an American civilian contractor dead.
The Kataeb Hezbollah militiamen and their IMIS supporters and sympathizers attacked the U.S. embassy in the Green Zone in response to US airstrikes.