User:Wilyam harifiun/sandbox

Shiite armed factions in Iraq The "Shiite Islamic armed groups in Iraq" is one of the centers of gravity in the military operations against US forces after the occupation of Iraq in 2003, where the formation of several armed factions, some directly linked to Iran, and others considered part of the national spirit defending Iraq and dignity of occupation Anglo-American in 2003, has contributed to the occupation forces in the absence of the Iraqi military and security, which led most of the spectrum of Iraqi society to go towards building a self-security system with capabilities and personal directions other than the factions that supported the support of Iran, Of the Shiite factions founded after 2003, namely: 1 - the Mahdi Army [1] 2 - Hezbollah Brigades

The birth of some militias dates back to the pre-US invasion of Iraq in 2003, while the turbulent conditions and complications that accompanied the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime contributed to the birth of others, all of which have considerable financial and human capabilities, most of which receive support from Iran. The Badr Corps, the Mahdi Army, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Al-Mukhtar Army and Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade are the most prominent Shiite militias. The Badr Corps was founded in 1981 by the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI), then known as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution (SCIRI), by the Shiite cleric Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, who was assassinated in 2003 after months of US occupation of the country. The corps received support and training from Iran and launched military operations against Saddam Hussein's regime. The Badr Corps is currently the Minister of Transport in the government of Nuri al-Maliki outgoing Hadi al-Ameri, and includes about 12 thousand fighters, most of them engaged in the Iraqi security services and hold leadership positions in the Ministry of Defense and the intelligence service. Amiri, who has been leading the Badr Corps since 2002, split from the Supreme Islamic Council after the 2010 elections and currently leads military operations in his hometown of Diyala.

Some believe that the KPC fighters were divided between the Supreme Council, currently led by Ammar al-Hakim, and the Badr Organization led by al-Amiri, but the indications are that the majority still owe allegiance to the allied al-Maliki. The Badr Brigade is blamed for the deaths of several former Iraqi army commanders, particularly Air Force officers and pilots, as well as members of the banned Baath party following the overthrow of the former regime.

But this does not mean that the Iraqi arena was limited to the Mehdi Army and Hezbollah, but a wave of divisions within the Shiite Islamic parties, including the Dawa Party, the Supreme Council and the Virtue Party, took place while the Mahdi Army expanded its base of operations against US forces. The Shiite areas, especially Najaf and Karbala, were engaged in wars with US and Salvadoran forces in 2005. Hizballah also continued its branch of the organization of Iraq with the aim of expanding the mass base as well as the resistance of the occupation forces. After the pull and pull, the Mahdi Army managed to form a political stream, The Participated in the Iraqi political system, and in building Iraqi governments after 2007, Here, the Shiite leader began the Mahdi Army to take the initiative and steer clear of Iran's direction, as Muqtada al-Sadr started from a broad popular base and from the joint Free Patriotic Movement in the Iraqi government. Several decisions were taken to freeze the Mahdi Army's military operations, Which occurred during the period of sectarian strife in 2006 - 2007, which led Iran to split within the Mahdi Army, as Iran was able to push the military wing of the Mahdi Army to split and form new factions called "Asaib Ahl al-Haq."

Mahdi Army: The armed wing of the Sadrist movement led by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was founded in September 2003 to fight US forces in Iraq. It consists of young imitators of the religious scholar Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, who was assassinated by the Iraqi Baath Party in 1999, and is estimated to have a number of about sixty thousand. Before the sectarian violence in 2006, the Mehdi Army fought several battles against US forces occupying Iraq, ending its battles with the Americans by losing two battles to control Najaf and Basra, and handing over its weapons to a joint Iraqi-US commission.

The government of Iyad Allawi in 2004, the activities ceased to return in 2006 following the events of the bombing of the shrine of the military imams in Samarra Salahaddin province, and acknowledged the existence of Sadr "criminal and corrupt elements" in the Mahdi Army, and announced that he was acquitted of every element involved in the killing of an Iraqi. In 2008 he fought long battles against government forces in the framework of what was known as "the arrival of the knights." In 2009, Sadr announced the full freeze of militia, and the expulsion of those involved in "sectarian cleansing" and killing of identity, before engaging in the political process. Sadr surprised everyone with unanticipated military potential when the Mehdi Army returned in June as the "Peace Brigades" in a military parade in Baghdad, where fighters carried heavy weapons and "Moqtada One" rockets, believed to have been received from Tehran. Sadr says the "peace brigades" take over the task of protecting holy shrines and do not participate in the fighting in Mosul and Tikrit, which is controlled by the Islamic state. Asaib Ahl al-Haq: Formed officially after the split of the leader of the Sadrist movement Qais al-Khazali, and was joined by thousands of fighters in 2007, and Western reports say it operates under the auspices of the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards General Qassem Soleimani.

After the wave of smiles in the Iraqi political arena due to the impact of the so-called revolutions of the Arab Spring in 2010, emerged armed Shiite factions under several names, which are part of the "Mahdi Army" or "Asaib Ahl al-Haq" or "Hezbollah" or "popular crowd" Tribal groups including: 1- The Islamic Revolution in Iraq, part of Hezbollah affiliated with Iran [3] 2 - The Islamic Front and the guardians of the faith, which is part of Asaib Ahl al-Haq affiliated to Iran [4] 3 - the peace brigades belonging to the Mahdi Army

The Shiite factions have expanded considerably under various names, with each group being distributed to no more than 100 people under a certain name such as "Ahl al-Haq", "Guardians of faith," "Guardians of the doctrine," and "Islamic Front," a Shiite Different from the Islamic Front, which belongs to the Sunni doctrine, Asaib Ahl al-Haq emerged as a faction of the Mehdi Army in 2004 under the name of "Special Groups." Since its establishment, the group has been led by Qais al-Khazali, a close associate of Muqtada al-Sadr, with Abdul Hadi al-Daraji and Akram al-Kaabi. By early 2006, the movement was operating more independently than the rest of the Mehdi Army, while it began to operate completely independently after the Mehdi Army was declared free of charge, some of whom are estimated at 3,000 when it was formally established in 2007.

The relationship between Sadr and Khazali turned into a kind of hostility, and accused al-Sadr in 2007 to "sectarian crimes," and demanded "Iran to stop funding." Khazali was arrested in March 2007 on the backdrop of the kidnapping and killing of five Americans in the city of Karbala (south), and was released by the Iraqi government in 2010 in the framework of a swap deal with the "gangs" resulted in the release of a British hostage.

The Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia is known to be one of the most hard-line Shiite factions and was deeply involved in sectarian violence between 2006 and 2007. Al-Osaib claimed responsibility for nearly 6,000 attacks on US forces, allies and Iraqi forces. It was known when British oil engineers and a US soldier were kidnapped in 2008 and 2009, with high-quality weapons and superior material capabilities.

After the departure of US forces in late 2011, announced the abandonment of weapons and join the political process, and became Khazali close to Maliki. It is estimated that there are about 10,000 fighters, and thousands of them are participating in the fighting alongside the forces of the Syrian regime. Maliki has relied on the fighters of Asaib Ahl al-Haq since the beginning of this year in secret when the Islamic state's control of Fallujah and other towns in the province of Anbar west of the country. There were reports of fighting alongside the Iraqi security forces, and the Sunni population accused them of committing abuses against them in Diyala and areas of the Baghdad belt, and executing many of them without trial, and attacking their houses of worship. They are currently active in Diyala province and in areas around Samarra in Salahuddin and on the western and southern outskirts of Baghdad. Shiite factions also faced the so-called Islamic state in Iraq and Syria, "especially" after the fatwa of the "Jihad Al-Kafi", which was launched by the Shiite authority in Iraq, "Ali al-Sistani" in 2014, Some have been blamed for the recent execution of Sunni citizens in the city of Baquba, the center of Diyala, and the hanging of their bodies with electricity poles to intimidate people. Al-Mukhtar's Army: A Shiite militia affiliated to Hezbollah, the branch of Iraq, led by religious leader Wakf al-Battat, who says his organization is an extension of the Lebanese Hezbollah, and raises yellow flags, but with different slogans. Since it was founded in early June 2010, the party has been calling for the killing of members of the outlawed Baath party and of what it calls the "Nawabis and Wahhabis."

Al-Battat is fully loyal to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and says he will fight alongside Iran if he goes to war with Iraq as Khamenei is "infallible." In November 2013, al-Mukhtar's army adopted a rocket attack on Saudi border posts from the Samawah desert in southwestern Iraq, in response to "the kingdom's interference in Iraq's affairs." In the wake of the incident, an Iraqi security force arrested Al-Battat early this year in Baghdad and is still being held today. It is estimated that the army of the chosen army of about forty thousand fighters, and is likely to have engaged in the recent battles with the organization of "Islamic State", but the areas were not clear.

Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade: a newly formed armed faction announced by the Iraqi Shiite cleric Qasim al-Tai during the outbreak of the Syrian revolution against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in 2011 to help the forces of the Syrian regime. The faction, led by Sheikh Alaa al-Kaabi, has Iraqi fighters, most of whom belong to Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Iraqi Hezbollah and the Sadrist movement. The brigade is one of the first Shiite factions that intervened militarily in Syria and stood for the side of the Syrian regime since 2012 with the ideological motive of defending and protecting the shrine of Ms. Zeinab in Damascus. Officials of the Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade withdrew most of its gunmen from Syria to counter the advance of the state. Al-Kaabi said that two factors contributed to the formation of the brigade, the first ideological to defend the holy shrines, and the other national is to defend the country from the "danger" of the organization of the Islamic state. And confirms the participation of its fighters in several battles in different areas alongside the Iraqi army against the state organization. 1 - Hassan Ibrahim Ahmed, Islam between the problem and the solution, intellectual debates with the slogan of Islam is the solution, the Naya for studies, publishing and distribution, Damascus, 2010. 2 - Abdel Rahim Ali, Muslim Brotherhood, read in secret files, Egyptian General Book Authority, Cairo, 2013. 3 - François Toyal, The Shiites of the World, The Awakening of the Disappeared and Their Strategy, Translated by Nassib Aoun, Dar Al-Farabi, Beirut, 2007. 4- Amr Shobaki, The Future of Islamic Movements, Dar Al-Fikr, Damascus, 2005. 5. Yoram Schweitzer and Jaya Shaki, "The War Against Al-Qaeda, Iraq as a Model," Strategic Israeli Readings, Strategic Report of the Israeli National Security Research Institute October 2008, under the supervision of a group of authors, Beirut, 2009. 6- Fouad Ibrahim, Doctrine and Politics, Wahhabism and Al Saud, Example, Dar Al Mezan, Beirut, 2012. 7. Thomas Highammer, Jihad in Saudi Arabia, The Story of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, translated by Amin al-Ayoubi, Arab Network for Research and Publishing, Beirut, 2013.