The Iraqi militia Kata'ib Hezbollah, backed by Iran's Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has taken part in recent terrorist plots against Jewish centers in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, London-based opposition-aligned television channel Iran International reported on Tuesday.
Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shiite militia founded in 2007 and part of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), receives training, weapons and financial support from Iran. The militia has expanded its operations beyond Iraq into Syria and, reportedly, into Central Asia.
Sources confirmed to Iran International that Kata'ib Hezbollah, through a Tajik operative named Mohammad Ali Burkhanov (also known as Sayyid Hamid al-Tajiki), conducted terrorist activities in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The report details that Burkhanov and his operatives, supported by Unit 400 of the Quds Force, attempted to torch the Jewish Agency offices and the Or Avner Jewish Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan using a Molotov cocktail. Burkhanov, linked to several attacks in the region, reportedly studied at Al-Mustafa University in Iran, known for recruiting operatives for Tehran-backed groups.