OVERVIEW

Kata’ib Imam Ali

Kata’ib Imam Ali (KIA), a.k.a. the Imam Ali Brigades, is an Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militia and US-designated foreign terrorist organization that has ties to other Iraqi Shia militias that have attacked US interests in Iraq and Syria. It identifies itself as a member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed militias that formed to attack US forces and Israel after the onset of the Israel-HAMAS conflict.

KIA formed in 2014 to fight ISIS. Its militants were later absorbed into the 40th Brigade of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Committee (PMC), a component of Iraq’s security forces. In 2019, KIA fighters participated in a violent crackdown on Iraqi protesters and injured and imprisoned civilians.

OPERATING AREAS
Iraq; operated in Syria from 2015 to at least 2022

MEMBERS
6,000 – 8,000

TACTICS AND TARGETS
KIA has longstanding relationships with and has received training and equipment from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanese Hizballah. It is well-equipped with small arms and probably has access to armored vehicles through its membership in the PMC.

TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATION
The US State Department designated KIA a foreign terrorist organization in September 2025 and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity in June 2025. The US Treasury Department designated KIA’s leader, Shibl al-Zaydi, an SDGT in 2018.

KEY LEADERS