In April
2013 there were reports of young Iraqis being recruited to fight in Syria.
Many were joining a new militia called Abu Fadhl Al-Abbas Brigade. They would
sign up in Iraq and then travel to Iran for training before being shipped off
to Syria. The reason given for the group’s involvement in Syria was to protect
the Shiite shrine of Sayid Zainab in the Damascus suburbs, but it was really
one of a number of armed groups organized by Iran to defend the government of
Bashar al-Assad. It is now doing the same in Iraq defending the Baghdad
government.
(Syrian Revolution)
The Abu Fadhl Al-Abbas Brigade was created by Iran to
organize Shiite fighters for the conflict in Syria. In 2012
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps – Quds Force (IRGC-QF) put
together the Abu Fadhl Al-Abbas Brigade using members of Asaib Ahl Al-Haq,
Kataib Hezbollah, former
members of the Mahdi Army, the Shuhada Brigade, along with Lebanese
Hezbollah elements. The official reason why the militia was formed was to
defend the Shiite shrine of Sayid Zainab in the Damascus suburbs, but in fact
it was part of a plan by Quds Force commander General Qasim Suleimani to defend
the Bashar al-Assad government. That was proven by the fact that Abu Fadhl
Al-Abbas has been deployed to places like Aleppo,
which is far to the north of Damascus, and by testimony of one of its fighters
who was told upon arrival in Syria that he was there to protect the Syrian
regime not just the shrine. Many of the militiamen were taken to Tehran for training,
and Iranian advisers
accompanied them into the field as well. Sheikh Qasim al-Tai, a former Sadrist
who has now pledged allegiance to Iran and vilyat al-faqih is one of the
militia’s leaders.
Iran
was determined to keep its ally the Assad government in power when protests
started. It quickly organized Syrians, and then Lebanese and Iraqis into
militias to keep the regime in power. In doing so it also ended up taking over
much of the military policy in the country, as Damascus became dependent upon
its support.
Abu Fadhl Al-Abbas
fighters in Damascus (Syrian Revolution)
While in Syria the militias has deployed alongside the Syria
army against the rebels, and taken part in at least one massacre. On October
8, 2013 government forces began shelling the town of Thyabeya outside
Damascus with tanks and artillery along with air strikes. Militiamen from
Lebanese Hezbollah and the Abu Fadhl Al-Abbas Brigade then moved into the town
and executed civilians. The Syrian war has been marked by many such brutal events,
as the country has broken apart into warring factions.
When the insurgency began taking off in early 2014 in Iraq,
Abu Fadhl Al-Abbas began deploying there as well, again under Iranian
direction. In March
2014, the militia posted on Facebook that it was operating in Iraq. In June
it had video of its forces patrolling in Baghdad, and then after the fall of
Mosul that month 1,500 of its fighters were sent to Samarra to defend the city.
The next month it was involved in a security operation in Babil’s Jurf al-Sakhr. It also
created a new organization Abu Fadhl Al-Abbas Tashkil al-Iraq marking its new
emphasis upon that country. Just like Syria Iranian advisers
provided supplies, intelligence, air cover, and coordination with other
militias and the Iraqi Security Forces for the group. Tehran was repeating the
same policy it used in Syria to face the new threat in Iraq. It deployed its
militia allies to defend Baghdad against rebels, put its men out into the field
to assist these groups, and delivered arms and ammunition to make the sure the
government does not fall, while greatly expanding its power within the state.
Iran has always wanted to influence its neighbor Iraq, and
the insurgent surge in the summer has provided it with one of its greatest
opportunities to do so. Iranian backed militias now make up half or more of
Baghdad’s forces, and they have been in the forefront of almost every major
victory against the militants. Abu Fadhl Al-Abbas was prepared for this role
through its experience in Syria where it was created by the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard to defend the regime there. Now it and Iran are trying to repeat
that same strategy in Iraq with great success as the government just like the
one in Syria is dependent upon Iran and its allies.
SOURCES
Buratha News, “Al Bhan and Arab in Jurf al-Sakhar cleared of
Daash rats,” 7/11/14
- “The killing of Mufti of Jurf al-Sakhr Musab al-Owaisi
with 70 other terrorists in violent clashes in the north of Babylon province,”
7/13/14
Fulton, Will, Holliday, Joseph & Wyer, Sam, “Iranian
Strategy In Syria,” AEI’s Critical Threats Project & Institute for the
Study of War, May 2013
Karouny, Mariam, “Shi’ite fighters rally to defend Damascus
shrine,” Reuters, 3/3/13
Knights, Michael, “Iran’s Foreign Legion: The Role of Iraqi
Shiite Militias in Syria,” Washington Institute for Near East Studies, 6/27/13
Middle East Eye, “Iranian commanders played crucial role
fighting IS: Iraqi officials,” 12/14/14
Naame Shaam, “Iran in Syria From an Ally of the Regime to an
Occupying Force,” September 2014
Now, “Talking to a Hezbollah
fighter in Syria,” 2/24/14
Al-Qaisi, Mohammed, “Iran ‘directly involved; in recruiting
Iraqis to fight in Syria: officials,” Al Shorfa, 4/24/13
Al-Salhy, Suadad, “Iran advisers boost anti-ISIL battles in
Iraq,” Al Jazeera, 12/14/14
Smyth, Phillip, “All the Ayatollah’s Men,” Foreign Policy,
9/18/14
- “Hizballah Cavalcade: Breaking Badr: Is Iraq’s Badr
Organization Operating In Syria?” Jihadology, 6/25/13
- “Hizballah Cavalcade: From Najaf
to Damascus and Onto Baghdad: Iraq’s Liwa Abu Fadhl al-Abbas,” Hizballah
Cavalcade, 6/18/14
- “Hizballah Cavalcade: Liwa’a ‘Ammar Ibn Yasir: A New Shia
Militia Operating In Aleppo, Syria,” Jihadology, 7/20/13
- “Hizballah Cavalcade: Roundup of Iraqis Killed in Syria,
Part 2,” Jihadology, 5/17/13
- “Iranian Proxies Step Up Their
Role in Iraq,” Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 6/13/14
Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad and Spyer, Jonathan, “Iraq’s Shi’a
Militias and Iran,” The Tower, December 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment