15 Groups Fighting 'On Behalf of Iran' in Syria and Iraq

The 'Defenders of the Shrine of the Ahl al-Bayt' or 'Defenders of the Shrine' refers to a group of members from the IRGC, Basij, religious forces supporting Ayatollah Khamenei, and some Shia militia groups that are engaged in fighting in Syria and Iraq under the pretext of 'defending' the shrines of Shia Imams and their descendants. The members of this militia group, which is organized and trained by the IRGC's Quds Force in collaboration with Hezbollah Lebanon, consist of Shia from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. In Iran, a body known as the Central Headquarters 'Imam Hussein', affiliated with the IRGC and led by Hossein Hamadani, is considered the main center for organizing and directing the 'Defenders of the Shrine' forces. Little information is available about the Central Headquarters 'Imam Hussein', but it seems to have been established to lead the war in Syria and Iraq. Hossein Hamadani, a former commander of the IRGC in Tehran, is the most recognized senior member of this headquarters, who has spoken multiple times in the past two years about developments in Syria and how to establish 'Basij' units and other armed groups in the country. Hamadani has detailed Iran's operations in Syria, stating that currently, 70,000 'Alawite', 'Sunni', and 'Shia' youths are organized by the IRGC to fight in Syria. He added that these youths are fighting in Syria in the form of 42 groups and 128 battalions, while 130,000 trained Basij forces from Iran are waiting to enter Syria. Mohammad Eskandari, the commander of the 'Malayer' IRGC, is another commander who announced that this military organization has prepared 42 brigades and 138 equipped battalions to fight against Bashar al-Assad's opponents within Syrian territory. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the IRGC, also stated that the number of combat forces in Iraq and Syria totals 200,000, operating as 'popular armed forces'. All these forces are fighting under the umbrella of the international 'Defenders of the Shrine' in Syria and Iraq. The international 'Defenders of the Shrine' consists of unofficial members of the IRGC's Quds Force and at least 15 well-known military groups currently engaged in combat against the 'ISIS' group in Syria and Iraq. The initial core of the 'Defenders of the Shrine' group, as reported by Iranian media, was formed by the 'Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas' battalion led by an individual named 'Abdul Amir al-Rubai'. Members of the 'Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas' battalion, established in the city of Najaf with a fatwa from 'Sheikh Qasim al-Tai', one of the Shia scholars in Iraq in 2005, include 'Hezbollah' Shia brigades and some other Shia militia forces in the country, some of which have roots dating back to the Saddam Hussein era. The 'Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas' battalion was one of the first Iraqi Shia groups to head to Syria when the conflict began and took leadership of several other Shia fighters in Syria on February 1, 2013, officially announcing its existence. This announcement referred to the formation of a new international group by the same name, aimed at 'faith in Islam and resistance against Takfiri groups'. The most important groups currently fighting against the 'ISIS' group in Syria and Iraq include the following forces: 1- The IRGC's Quds Force: This force is referred to as the fifth branch of the IRGC after the ground, air, naval, and Basij forces, responsible for the 'extraterritorial' missions of this institution. The Quds Force was established during the Iran-Iraq war, aimed at conducting reconnaissance and military missions in Iraqi territory. After the unrest in Syria began in 2011, a new phase of the Quds Force's missions in the region, particularly in Syria, commenced, which expanded even further with the ISIS group's attack on Iraq. After the arrest and release of several of its senior commanders in the early months of the Syrian conflict, the Quds Force gradually changed its approach to troop deployment, giving Hezbollah Lebanon a greater role in sending, training, and organizing these forces. In this shift, the commanders decided to establish a 'Popular Headquarters of the Defenders of the Shrine' in Iran to organize and send volunteer forces to fight in Syria. This headquarters has held over 10 gatherings under the title 'Defenders of the Shrine' in Tehran and many other gatherings in various cities across Iran to encourage religious youth to join the fight in Syria. The responsibility for organizing these gatherings lies with a committee in Tehran named 'Heyat al-Ridha', whose speaker, Abdulreza Helali, is an employee of the IRGC in Tehran. Over the past three years, this headquarters has managed to send dozens of active religious youth from mosques, husseiniyas, Basij bases, and even some members of the IRGC from various cities in Iran to fight in Syria. The bodies of dozens of members of this group have been buried in various cities in Iran, and there is no precise information on the exact number of these casualties. Despite the intensifying conflicts in Syria and Iraq and the official presence of Qassem Soleimani in the battlefields of Iraq, the IRGC continues to send forces to these two countries through the 'Defenders of the Shrine' to reduce the regional and international costs of its interventions in the internal affairs of some countries in the region. 2- Hezbollah Lebanon: Hezbollah Lebanon is the most recognized group in the Shia fight against the 'ISIS' group in Syria and Iraq, with its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah repeatedly confirming the military presence of this group's forces in Syria. Hezbollah Lebanon has participated in the Syrian conflict since late 2012, with its death toll reported to exceed 250. This group is considered the most important reference for training and designing urban warfare in Iraq and Syria, having entered the conflicts in these two countries at Iran's request. Many Shia militia members in these two countries are trained by experienced commanders from Hezbollah Lebanon. The reason for assigning this mission to Hezbollah Lebanon by the Quds Force is the group's extensive experience in years of warfare with Israel; years of urban and regional warfare have made its commanders adept at urban combat. 'Hezbollah Lebanon', inspired by its cooperation model with the Quds Force, has utilized at least two groups, 'Katā'ib Hezbollah' and 'Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq' in Iraq, to train and equip several other Shia militia groups. Many of this group's forces are currently engaged in combat with the 'ISIS' group in various areas of Syria and Iraq. On the official website of Ayatollah Khamenei, a special page named 'Resistance' has been established, containing much content related to Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Lebanon's activities, and the Islamic Republic's leader's statements regarding developments in these regions. This page features a map depicting Iran, Bahrain, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Pakistan, Myanmar, India, Palestine, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia in different colors, introducing these countries as the axis of 'Islamic Resistance'. The main management of this project, as stated by Brigadier General Ali Shadmani, Deputy Operations Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, has been assigned by Ayatollah Khamenei to the IRGC. This map is a precise and clear indication of the Islamic Republic's policies to expand its influence in these countries, currently pursued through Hezbollah Lebanon's agency. In this policy, Hezbollah Lebanon has been tasked with establishing 'Resistance Cells' in the aforementioned countries under the name of 'Hezbollah'. Based on this map and in cooperation with the Quds Force of the IRGC, Hezbollah Lebanon has been able to establish 'Hezbollah' organizations in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Palestine, and Tunisia. In recent years, Hezbollah Lebanon has taken clear positions aligned with the Islamic Republic regarding internal developments in these countries and defended the developments in these countries in line with Iran's interests. 3- Hezbollah Syria: Hezbollah Syria is the second branch of Hezbollah Lebanon in Syria, confirmed by Hossein Hamadani, the deputy of the Central Headquarters 'Imam Hussein'. This group consists of fighters supporting Bashar al-Assad in Syria and provides limited assistance to the country's army in fighting Assad's opponents. Hezbollah Syria announced its existence in April 2014, stating the deaths of eight of its members. Reports indicate that the members of Hezbollah are composed of 12-Imam Shia Syrians, and their training is overseen by commanders from Hezbollah Lebanon and the IRGC. The number of this group's forces is estimated at 15,000, and its members have stated in a released video that they will continue the path of Ruhollah Khomeini and defend the shrine of 'Lady Zainab'. 4- Badr Corps: The Badr Corps is the most famous member of the 'Defenders of the Shrine' in Iraq, having a very close relationship with the Islamic Republic and the IRGC in Iran. This corps is part of 42 active militia groups in Iraq that, along with 28 other militia groups, are 'directly supported by Iran'. The Badr Corps is the military branch of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, established in 1980 by Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, the then-president of this political-military organization, with the membership of a group of Iraqi prisoners and refugees in Iran. The members of this corps consider themselves the defenders of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, and during Saddam Hussein's time, they referred to their struggle against his regime as 'Jihad in the way of Allah'. The Badr Corps is currently commanded by Hadi al-Amiri, who has previously been a member of parliament and the Minister of Transport in the Iraqi government and is a significant figure in the 'Popular Mobilization' against the 'ISIS' group. Hadi al-Amiri has a very close relationship with Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, and numerous images of these two military commanders in Iraq have been published. On November 5, 2014, an image of Amiri and Soleimani in the house of the Islamic Republic's leader was also published, which received extensive media coverage and indicated the closeness of this Iraqi corps commander to the leader of the Islamic Republic. This corps recently produced and broadcast a video praising Ayatollah Khamenei. The current headquarters of this corps in Iraq is Camp Ashraf, the former base of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization, which was handed over to this military organization in July 2014. The Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization is one of the opposition groups to the Islamic Republic and has its military structure; its military base is in Iraq, and its political headquarters is in Paris. 5- 'Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas' Brigade or 'Liwa Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas': The 'Liwa Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas' brigade, composed of several Iraqi Shia military groups, officially announced its existence on February 1, 2013, with the aim of protecting the shrine of Lady Zainab, the daughter of the first Shia Imam in Syria. The members of this brigade include not only the 'Al-Yawm al-Maw'ud' group affiliated with the 'Sadrist Movement' led by 'Muqtada al-Sadr' and the 'Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq' group led by 'Sheikh Qais al-Khazali' affiliated with 'Jaysh al-Mahdi', but also a group of members from Hezbollah Lebanon and Iraqi nationals residing in Damascus. Several videos of the 'Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas' brigade have been circulated on various internet sites, in one of which the members emphasize that they entered Damascus solely to defend the shrine of 'Lady Zainab'. Some members of this brigade have joined other Shia fighters who have taken up arms to confront the 'ISIS' group in Iraq after the group's attack. 'Ala al-Kaabi', the military commander of the 'Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas' brigade, has announced the current number of forces in Iraq to be 500. Some official news agencies in Iran have reported that the formation of this brigade in Syria was an initiative by Hezbollah Lebanon and Hassan Nasrallah himself. The command of this brigade is led by an individual named Hossein Abu Ajeeb, an Iraqi Shia residing in Syria, who has close ties with the Quds Force of the IRGC. 6- 'Fatemiyoun Brigade': The 'Fatemiyoun Brigade' is another group of Shia fighters present in Syria, many of whose members are Afghan residents of Iran; they are sent to this country after being recruited, trained, and organized in IRGC camps. This brigade, as reported by Iranian media, was initially formed by 17 Afghan Shia residents of Damascus and, after the escalation of the war in Syria, evolved into a military brigade. According to some reports, currently over 2,500 members of this brigade, comprising Afghan Shia from Kabul, Iran, and Syria, are engaged in combat in various regions of Syria. These reports indicate that approximately 200 members of this brigade have been killed in the fighting in Syria. The bodies of a significant number of the fallen members of this brigade have been buried in various cities in Iran, particularly in Qom and Mashhad. Afghan Shia migrants have been living in these two religious cities for many years. Many members of the 'Fatemiyoun Brigade' reside in these two cities, and the organization and dispatch of them are overseen by the provincial IRGC of Qom and Razavi Khorasan. The main command of this brigade was held by an individual named Alireza Tosuli, known as 'Abu Hamid', who was killed on February 28, 2015, in 'Daraa' Syria, and his body was buried in Mashhad a few days later. After Tosuli's death, who was reported to have also participated in the Iran-Iraq war, numerous images of him with Qassem Soleimani were published. Several films about the 'Fatemiyoun Brigade' and its fallen members have been produced and broadcast on Iranian television. 7- 'Zainbiyoun Brigade': The newly formed 'Zainbiyoun Brigade' is the third military group organized from within Iran to fight in Syria, composed of Pakistani Shia residents of Iran. This brigade was established after the ISIS group's attack on Iraq and with the support of the Quds Force of the IRGC.