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US Designates Iraqi Shiite Militia as Foreign Terrorist Organization

   The United States has designated Asaib Ahl Al-Haq as a Foreign
   Terrorist Organization, saying the Iraqi militia is a proxy for Iran.
   AU.S. State Department statementissuedFridayalsosaid two of the group's
   leaderswere being sanctioned.
   Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the militia and its leaders
   "violent proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
   The State Department said Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, also known as the League of
   the Righteous, is backed bytheIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps'Quds
   Force, which has been similarly designated by the United States.
   The State Department said it also designated Qais al-Khazali, leader of
   Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, and his brother Laith al-Khazali, another leader of
   the group, as specially designated global terrorists.
   Such designations will freeze the U.S.-related assets of the group and
   the two leaders, generally ban Americans from doing business with them
   and make it a crime to provide support or resources to the militia.
   The move came hours after a U.S. drone strike killed the powerful
   commander of the elite Quds Force in an attack in Baghdad, igniting
   outrage in Iran.
   Qassem Soleimaniwas killed in an attack on two vehicles at
   BaghdadInternationalAirport early Friday.
   Tehran has vast influence and supports many Shiite militias based in
   neighboring Iraq. Baghdad has attempted to balance its relations
   between the United States and Iran, both of which provide crucial
   military and financial support to the struggling government.
   Reuterscontributed to this report.

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