{"id":342757,"date":"2026-03-16T22:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/342757\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T22:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:34:16","slug":"security-commander-of-iraqs-kataeb-hezbollah-said-killed-in-airstrike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/342757\/","title":{"rendered":"Security commander of Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah said killed in airstrike"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iraq\u2019s powerful armed group Kataeb Hezbollah said Monday that its senior security commander, Abu Ali al-Askari, had been killed, without providing details on the circumstances of his death.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s leader, Ahmad al-Hamidawi, also known as Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, said, \u201cWe announce the martyrdom of Haj Abu Ali al-Askari,\u201d without providing any further details.<\/p>\n

A security official told AFP that \u201cAbu Ali al-Askari is Abu Ali al-Amiri, the commander who was killed in a strike on Baghdad on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kataeb Hezbollah referred to Askari as the group\u2019s security chief. He was also the spokesperson in charge of issuing all key statements in the group\u2019s name. The last was released on March 7, following the killing of Iran\u2019s supreme leader.<\/p>\n

According to the group\u2019s statement, Askari will be replaced by Abou Moujahed al-Assaf as the new security chief.<\/p>\n

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The Iran-backed group, designated by Washington as a terrorist organization, is part of the umbrella movement known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has been claiming daily attacks on the US interests in Iraq and the region.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the current war in Iran, several attacks targeting members of those groups across Iraq have been blamed on the US and Israel. Israel is not believed to be carrying out any strikes within Iraq, but US forces have hit targets there, as Iran-backed militias have been targeting US and Kurdish sites in the country.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFormer hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov is greeted by family and friends at Sheba Medical Center on September 10, 2025. (Yuval Yosef\/GPO)<\/p>\n

Kataeb Hezbollah was the group responsible for kidnapping Israeli Elizabeth Tsurkov in Baghdad in March 2023, and held her hostage until she was released<\/a> in September 2025.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the news on Monday, Tsurkov wrote on X that Askari \u201cwas personally involved in keeping me captive and spreading hilarious lies about me, even after my release.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said he was \u201ckilled by the United States for [Kataeb Hezbollah]\u2019s targeting of US interests in Iraq & neighboring countries. KH also killed hundreds of American servicemen. But most of the blood this man had on his hands was that of Arabs: Iraqis and Syrians.\u201d<\/p>\n


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