Active

Terror organization: Kataib al-Imam Ali (al-Imam Ali Battalions, or KIA).

Status: Leader of Kataib al-Imam Ali.

Role: Al-Zaydi, the KIA secretary-general rose to prominence during the formation of Jaish al-Mahdi in 2004. A member of the Iran-backed “special groups,” he was detained by the U.S. military in Iraq and later released in 2010. He is one of the most commercially active and wealthy militia and PMF leaders, with extensive operations in oil smuggling, telecommunications, trade, agriculture, real estate, and the Qi Card electronic payment system. On November 14, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Zaydi for acting on behalf of Iran’s IRGC-QF, highlighting his role as a financial liaison who facilitates transactions and coordinates between the IRGC and armed factions in Iraq. The designation detailed his involvement in oil smuggling operations from Iran to Syria, funding Lebanese Hezbollah’s operations in Syria, and mobilizing Iraqi fighters to Syria under Soleimani’s direction.

Al-Zaydi has served as a financial coordinator between the IRGC-QF and sectarian armed groups in Iraq and assisted in facilitating Iraqi investments on behalf of IRGC-QF designated Commander Qassem Soleimani. Al-Zaydi has appeared publicly with Qasem Soleimani several times and kept very close relations with him until his elimination in January, 2020.

He is one of the key figures to IRGC in the Iraqi mechanism. On the eve of the January 2020 attacks on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Zaydi held a meeting at his farm in al- Zafraniya that included top militia figures such as Hadi al-Ameri, leader of the Badr Organization; Akram Kaabi, leader of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HaN); Qais al-Khazali, leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), Abu Ala al-Walai, leader of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS); and Ahmad Mohsen Faraj al-Hamidawi, secretary-general of Kataib Hezbollah (KH).

Al-Zaydi maintained close working relations with Hezbollah representatives in Iraq, Mohammed al-Kawtharani and Adnan Hussein Kawtharani, and with Hezbollah’s top financier Adham Tabaja.

Moreover, Zaydi played a crucial role in transferring substantial financial resources to Lebanon, supporting Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian civil war. He has maintained significant operational relationships with Hezbollah officials and their economic ventures in Iraq.

The KIA also support the Houthis due to several actions al-Zaydi did some years ago.

Al-Zaydi has also coordinated the smuggling of oil from Iran on behalf of Iran, the smuggling of oil into Syria on behalf of Iran, and has sent Iraqi fighters to Syria allegedly at the IRGC-QF’s request.

These activities have included providing protection for companies in Iraq allegedly financed by Hizballah and facilitating the movement of Hizballah funding into Iraq for investments.

Al-Zaydi has also worked with senior Hezbollah officials to transfer large sums of money to Lebanon to help fund Hezbollah’s participation in the Syrian civil war.

Moreover, he has transferred large sums of money to Tabaja and worked with Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Kallas to facilitate the movement of bulk cash from Iraq to Lebanon on Tabaja’s behalf.

Tabaja still maintains direct ties to senior Hezbollah officials in all fields of operations, and holds properties in Lebanon on behalf of the group.

In addition, Al-Zaydi is a partner and founder of Global Cleaners S.A.R.L., also, since its founding in 2014, Al-Zaydi has been the Secretary General of an Iran-aligned Iraqi sectarian armed group.

This armed group primarily operates in Iraq, but has also dispatched fighters to Syria, and its members have trained in Iran and with Hizballah in Lebanon.

He holds strong political base in Suwayrah, Iraq.

Location: Iraq.

Born: 28 October 1968;

Place of Birth: Baghdad, Iraq;

Gender: Male;

Address: Iraq;

Known also as: Shebl Al Zaidi; Shibl Al Zaidi; Shibl Muhsin Ubayd Al-Zadi; Hajji Shibl Muhsin Al-Zaydi; Ja’far Salih Mahdi; Hajji Shibl.

(al-Zaydi with Soleimani and al-Muhandis)