"Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades" affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (social networking sites)

A loose military formation, and a general name that includes a number of armed Iraqi factions and groups supported by Iran, that appeared after the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, and launched attacks with drones and missiles against military bases containing American forces in Iraq and Syria.

Origin and establishment

The name “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” appeared for the first time after the American war on Iraq in 2003, but at that time it was a title for many “Sunni” armed factions that had visual publications and official statements, but they disappeared after the control of Shiite armed groups supported by Iran.

On October 21, 2023, the name “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” returned to the forefront after armed groups under it claimed responsibility for attacks with missiles and drones on American military sites in Syria and Iraq, in response to the Israeli aggression supported by the United States against the Gaza Strip in October. October 2023.

On November 25, 2023, the Iraqi “Hezbollah Brigades” announced the names of some of the groups affiliated with it under the name “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” referring to the “Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada” and “Al-Nujaba” organizations, which form part of what is known as “ The “Axis of Resistance,” which is led by Tehran and includes other regional factions, such as “Hezbollah” in Lebanon or the Houthis in Yemen, in addition to the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades and the “Loyal Ansar Allah” group, which broke away from the Sadrist movement, and which many consider one of the most important “Iraqi agents” for The Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Thought and ideology

The factions under this umbrella initially targeted US military interests in Iraq and Syria, in response to the US-backed Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Experts believe that these factions are likely to launch attacks on American military barracks and bases under a loose name, which allows them to deny it if necessary.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy also indicates another goal, which is to push the Iraqi government and political leaders to officially demand the departure of American forces.

Armed men from the Al-Nujaba Movement took out the capital, Baghdad, on October 8, 2023, in support of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” (French)

These groups are also linked to the "Popular Mobilization Forces", an alliance of paramilitary forces that emerged in June 2014 in response to the fatwa of Shiite authority Ali al-Sistani to support the security forces against ISIS after it took control of large parts of the north and northwest of the country and approached the Baghdad borders. at that time.

On June 11, 2014, the ministerial committee formed by former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to manage the ISIS crisis announced in a press statement the formation of regiments of volunteers under the name “Popular Mobilization” to support the security services, and the formation of the “Popular Mobilization Directorate” was announced, which It then became a body with an independent entity under the Iraqi government.

In November 2016, the Iraqi Council of Representatives ratified the Popular Mobilization Forces Law No. 40 to give a legal formula to the status of its forces as supporting the army while preserving their identity and privacy. They did not contribute to defeating ISIS in 2017 with the support of the international coalition led by Washington.

Under the law, “Popular Mobilization Forces factions and formations are considered legal entities that enjoy rights and are committed to duties as a auxiliary force in support of the Iraqi security forces, and they have the right to preserve their identity and privacy as long as this does not constitute a threat to Iraqi national security.”

The law also stipulates that the formations of the Mobilization Forces have a legal personality and are linked to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and the same applies to them as applies to the military.

Most prominent stations

On October 17, 2023, the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” launched two drone attacks on the “Ain al-Asad Air Base” in western Iraq, and the “Harir Air Base,” which houses American forces, near Erbil Airport in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

On October 19, 2023, it launched a drone attack on the Al-Tanf base in Syria, in addition to a missile attack on the American base in the Conoco natural gas field in Syria.

It continued to launch similar attacks on the same bases, except on November 3, 2023, it announced the beginning of a new, “more severe and broader” phase that it said was “to support Palestine.” It began on the same day by bombing “Israeli targets,” one of which was in the city of Eilat, in the far south of occupied Palestine. On the Red Sea.

Then, on December 28, it announced the bombing of what it said were “two Israeli targets” inside Iraqi territory and the occupied Syrian Golan in two separate operations.

On January 28, 2024, it claimed responsibility for an attack targeting the “Burj 22 Base,” which houses American forces in northeastern Jordan. The attack led to the death of 3 American soldiers.

Two days after that attack, the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades - affiliated with the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" - announced in an official statement by its Secretary-General Ahmed Al-Hamidawi, the suspension of military and security operations against American forces with the aim of preventing any embarrassment to the Iraqi government.

The Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades confirmed in its statement that Iran does not know how to operate and has often objected to its escalation against American forces.

Source: websites