The White House has also accused Iranian-backed militias of “life-threatening attacks” on US facilities in Baghdad and Basra recently. A report by the Counter Extremism Project said three of the most powerful of these groups were Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the Badr Organisation and Kata'ib Hezbollah. The latter has been officially designated as a terrorist organisation by the US. All the groups are part of an Iraqi government approved umbrella group of predominantly Shiite fighters with strong ties to Iran. They are all hostile to the US and have carried out repeated attacks before, during and after the Iraq War.