US sanctions Iran-backed militia members in Iraq conducting strikes against American forces

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and TARA COPP
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on six people affiliated with the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataeb Hezbollah, which is accused of being behind a spate of recent attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel. Included in Friday’s sanctions are the militia’s foreign affairs chief, a member of its governing council, its military commander and a media spokesman. A spate of drone attacks hit U.S. bases in Iraq as recently as Friday. As of Friday, there had been at least 60 attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17.