U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it has designated Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the head of an Iraqi militia, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

Iran has long sought the withdrawal of American forces from neighboring Iraq, but the U.S. killing of an Iranian general and an Iraqi militia commander in Baghdad has added new impetus to the effort, stoking anti-American feelings that Tehran hopes to exploit to help realize the goal.