US imposes sanctions on four Iraqis over alleged human rights and corruption.

The United States imposed sanctions on Four Iraqis including two former Iraqi provincial governors it accused of human rights abuses and corruption, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday.

The sanctions target Rayan al-Kildani and Waad Qado, and former governors Nawfal Hammadi al-Sultan and Ahmed al-Jubouri, the Treasury said in a statement.

“We will continue to hold accountable persons associated with serious human rights abuse, including the 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,” Sigal Mandelker, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said.

The Treasury said many of the actions that prompted the sanctions occurred in “areas where persecuted communities are struggling to recover from the horrors inflicted on them” by Islamic State, the terrorist group that controlled parts of Iraq for several years.

Sultan and Jubouri were designated for being engaged in corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, and other misdeeds, the Treasury said.

Iraq in March issued a warrant for the arrest of Sultan, the former governor of Nineveh province, on corruption charges after at least 90 people were killed in a ferry accident in the provincial capital Mosul.

As a result of the designation, any property the four persons held in the United States would be blocked and U.S. persons are barred from business dealings with them.