Al Kildani: Brigade Babylon militia leader

Although he is a Chaldean Catholic, Rayan Al Kildani was a military commander in the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces. He joined forces with Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force, and Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s Vice President. The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against Al Kildani and other Iraqi figures.

Al Kildani is the commander of Brigade Babylon militia and member of the Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces.

Al Kildani was born in the 1980s in Alqosh, Nineveh Governorate, which is a bastion of Chaldean Catholics in Iraq.

His father worked as a public servant in a Kirkuk court in the 1950s. The family later settled down in Baghdad. After ISIS, aka Daesh, took control of many Iraqi cities and regions in 2014, Al Kildani formed a Chaldean militia of 40 men.

The US State Department imposed sanction son Al Kildani for taking part in the Popular Mobilization Forces.

“The United States is taking action against four individuals in Iraq implicated in serious human rights abuse or corruption,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial Intelligence.

“We will continue to hold accountable persons associated with serious human rights abuse, including persecution of religious minorities, and corrupt officials who exploit their positions of public trust to line their pockets and hoard power at the expense of their citizens.”