Sanctioning Iranian-Backed Militia Terrorists Act

Subjects: International Affairs

Summary:  <p><b>Sanctioning Iranian-Backed Militia Terrorists Act</b></p> <p>This bill requires the President to impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions with respect to Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada and any foreign person that is a member, agent, or affiliate of, or owned or controlled by, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.</p> <p>Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada is an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia that has worked with groups that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations and has deployed forces to Syria to engage in military operations supporting the Syrian government.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 691 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 691

     To impose sanctions with respect to Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2023

  Mr. Steube introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To impose sanctions with respect to Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sanctioning Iranian-Backed Militia 
Terrorists Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) is an Iranian-backed 
        Iraqi militia founded in 2003 by Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani, who 
        was sanctioned on January 9, 2008, by the Department of the 
        Treasury ``for threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and 
        the Government of Iraq''. Sheibani led a network which 
        according to the Department of the Treasury conducted 
        improvised explosive device attacks against United States 
        soldiers in Baghdad.
            (2) KSS openly recognizes the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali 
        Khamanei as its spiritual leader.
            (3) KSS is provided training, funding, and arms by Iran's 
        Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and IRGC-Quds Forces 
        and works closely with Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH), Lebanese 
        Hezbollah, and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), all of which have been 
        designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Department 
        of State.
            (4) KSS has fought under the command of former IRGC-Quds 
        Forces commander Qassem Soleimani. The militia has members who 
        operate as a unit of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), 
        which is a formal part of the Iraqi federal government under 
        the authority of the Prime Minister of Iraq and which receives 
        funding from the Iraqi federal government, including salaries.
            (5) Since its founding KSS has deployed forces to Syria to 
        engage in military operations supporting the Government of 
        Syria, including offensives in Daraa, Quneitera, the Damascus 
        suburbs, and the Aleppo countryside.
            (6) In 2015, KSS threatened to ``strike and destroy'' Saudi 
        Arabia, saying in a statement: ``We in the Sayyid al Shuhada 
        Battalion consider Saudi interests a legitimate and permissible 
        target on all levels, and we will strike and destroy them 
        whenever it pleases us.''.
            (7) In August 2019, Abu Alaa al-Wala'i, a leader of KSS, 
        said that ``All Americans will be held hostage by the 
        resistance factions in the event of a war.''.
            (8) On February 14, 2020, the Department of State announced 
        that sanctions were imposed on KSS pursuant to section 3 of the 
        Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (50 U.S.C. 
        1701 note) for engaging in illicit arms transfers to or 
        acquisition from Iran.
            (9) On February 25, 2021, President Biden ordered 
        airstrikes against infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed 
        militias in eastern Syria in response to attacks against United 
        States personnel in Iraq. According to the Department of 
        Defense's statement on February 25, 2021, ``the strikes 
        destroyed multiple facilities located at a border control point 
        used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups, including 
        Kait'ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kait'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS).''.

SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--The President shall impose the sanctions described 
in subsection (b) with respect to--
            (1) Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada; and
            (2) any foreign person that is a member, agent, or 
        affiliate of, or owned or controlled by, Kata'ib Sayyid al-
        Shuhada.
    (b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are--
            (1) sanctions applicable with respect to a foreign person 
        pursuant to section 7412(b) of the Caesar Syria Civilian 
        Protection Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note); and
            (2) sanctions applicable with respect to a foreign person 
        pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; 
        relating to blocking property and prohibiting transactions with 
        persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism).
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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