(Photo: Sina)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- US State Department announced Wednesday that it has designated Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the head of an Iraqi militia, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

The department said in a statement that al-Hamidawi is the Secretary General of Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH), which Washington claimed is "an Iran-backed terrorist group active in Iraq and Syria."

According to the statement, KH has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against US and Coalition Forces in Iraq, including a rocket attack on an Iraqi base near Kirkuk in late December of 2019 that killed a US civilian contractor and injured four US service members.

Following the designation, all of al-Hamidawi's property and interests in the United States have been blocked and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.