Database: Identifiers of Designated Islamic Terrorist Organizations
Kata'ib al-Imam Ali
Designation Status (as of October 6, 2026)
| US State Dept FTO | Listed Kata’ib al-Imam Ali (KIA) since September 18, 2025 (effective on Federal Register publication, 90 FR 45097) |
|---|---|
| US Treasury OFAC SDN (SDGT) | Listed KATA'IB AL-IMAM ALI |
| UK Proscribed | Not listed official list |
| EU Terrorist Lists | Not listed official list |
| Canada Listed Entities | Not listed official list |
| Australia Listed | Not listed official list |
Profile written 2015 The profile below is the original Jihad Intel text and has not been updated. Designation status above is current.
Not yet designated terrorist by a Western country
Base of operations: Iraq, Syria
Kata'ib al-Imam Ali (the Imam Ali Battalions) is a Shi'a militia formed as part of the wider Shi'a mobilization against the renewed Sunni Arab insurgency in Iraq in 2014. The group's secretary general is one Shabal al-Zaidi, who has been apparently involved with the Sadrist movement and was a one-time commander in Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. However, the militia is also linked to Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a key figure in the mobilization of Iranian-aligned Shi'a militias in Iraq.
As of summer 2015, the group has also deployed fighters to Syria as part of the rally call to defend the Sayyida Zainab shrine in Damascus etc.
