Shiite Foreign Militias in Syria Iran's role in the Syrian conflict and the ISIS fight By Aaron Hesse- Research Fellow August 2015 Introduction: This paper seeks to identify and elucidate the role that Iran-backed Shiite foreign fighters play in Syria and to compare how often they target the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) and the Syrian opposition. Shiite foreign fighters inside Syria present a major problem for the Syrian opposition forces due to their generally superior morale and fighting abilities. They also pose a long-term threat to American and Western interests due to their role in expanding the Syrian conflict and increasing its sectarian content. Many of these militias arose in Syria for the stated purpose of protecting Shiite religious shrines.i When ISIS burst onto the scene in summer 2014, the goal of fighting ISIS brutality was added on as a second ostensible purpose of the militias. However, contrary to the prevailing narrative that is based mainly on Iraq, the Iran-backed Shiite militias have been of extremely limited value in the ISIS fight in Syria. This paper will attempt to show that these groups work and perform military duties on behalf of the government of Bashar al-Assad and their benefactors in Iran almost exclusively to target the Syrian rebels. The Iran-backed militias have no real interest in fighting ISIS in Syria. This makes Assad, as well as Iran, unreliable partners in the fight to destroy ISIS. Metrics: This paper will focus on the outsized role that Iran-backed Shiite foreign fighters are playing in Syria. In attempting to quantify this role and whether it has increased, decreased or stayed the same, this paper analyzes information that specified whether or not Iran, Hezbollah or another Iran-backed Shiite militia led the fighting; whether their role increased or decreased; and which groups (Syrian rebels or ISIS) they targeted. The Players: Various Shiite foreign fighter organizations have played a role in combat operations inside Syria. They range from Hezbollah, an Iranian-sponsored militant group based in Lebanon, to the Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigades from Iraq, to Houthi militants from Yemen and the Zaynebiyun Brigades from Pakistan. These forces mostly operate in the western portion of Syria on a north-south axis that runs from Deraa in the south through Damascus, Homs, Hama and Idlib before ending at Aleppo in the north. It should be noted that many fighters comprising these militias today are Shia fighters who directly or indirectly fought against U.S. soldiers during the Iraq War.ii Below is a listing of the most notable Shiite militia groups now operating in Syria: 1. Iran: The Quds Forces (led by Qassem Suleimani): The Al-Quds Forces are an elite Iranian Special Forces unit born out of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Pasdaran. The Quds forces are Iran’s extra-territorial operations unit and play a vital role in organizing virtually every foreign Shiite militia operating in Syria. Reports on the extent of Quds Force operations in Syria have led some analysts to conclude that dictator Bashar al-Assad is no longer in control of his military operations to preserve his own regime. 2. Lebanon: Hezbollah (led by Hassan Nasrallah): Hezbollah is probably the most powerful Shiite foreign force, behind the Quds forces, working inside Syria today. Hezbollah initially entered Syria in late 2012 under the guise of defending Shiite villages on the Syrian side of the Syrian-Lebanese border. However, the group is now deployed all across Syria. When the armed Syrian opposition appears close to turning the tide in a vital region, Hezbollah will likely be deployed to stanch the tide. Hezbollah has received heavy political and military support from Iran since the early 1980s. 3: Iraq: Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade (LAFA; led by Abu Ajeeb Abu Hajjariii): Originally organized as the “Defenders of the Sayyida Zeinab Shrine” south of Damascus, Liwa Abu Fadl al- Abbas laid the original groundwork and established the narrative for many of the Shiite militias that subsequently entered the Syrian conflict from across the region. 4. Iraq: Asaib Ahl al-Haq (led by Akram al-Kabi): Commanded by Iran’s Quds Forces, Asaib Ahl al-Haq is an Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group operating in Iraq and Syria. It is an offshoot of Muqtada al- Sadr’s Mahdi Army and its Promised Day Brigade (below).With a size estimated at between 2,000- 4,000 militants, Asaib Ahl al-Haq receives direct support from Hezbollah and Iran’s Quds Forces. 5. Iraq: Haidar al-Karar (led by Akram al-Kabiiv): This is Asaib Ahl al-Haq’s main Syrian military branch. This group fights mainly in Aleppo and was responsible for ending the armed opposition's siege on Aleppo International Airport in early 2014. 6. Iraq: Kataib Hezbollah: A 400-500 fighter strong elite unit of Iraqi Shia fighters operating in Syria and Iraq and directly reporting to the leadership of Hezbollah and the Quds Force. 7. Iraq: Badr Organization (led by Hadi al-Amiri): While technically an Iraqi political party, the Badr Organization also has a massive military wing. It operates mostly in Iraq, and is one of the leading Shiite militant groups actively taking the fight to ISIS inside Iraq, however, it has also made forays into Syria. Estimates of its strength vary widely between 10,000 and 50,000 fighters. 8. Iraq: Al-Youm al-Mawud Brigade (Promised Day Brigade; led by Muqtada al-Sadrv) One of the most powerful and successful Shiite groups in Iraq. Formed after the dissolution of Muqtada al- Sadr’s Mahdi Army. Believed to have sent around 5,000-7,000 fighters into Syria. 9. Afghanistan: Zulfiqar Brigade (led by "Abu Shahed" and "Abu Hajar"vi): This group is significant in that it marked the entry of Afghani Shiites, mostly of Hazara ethnicity, into the conflict in Syria. Before the Liwa Zulfiqar group was formed in mid-2013, most Afghani Shiites fought alongside the Iraqi Shiites in the Liwa Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade. 10. Afghanistan: Fatimiyun Brigade: This brigade, comprised of thousands of Aghani Shiites of mainly Hazara ethnicity, was formed following the fall of Mosul to ease the manpower shortages of the Iraqi Shiite foreign fighters in Syria. To date, the brigade's main offensive has been its massive February 2015 attack on the moderate armed opposition in Deraa. 11. Pakistan: Zeinabiyun Brigade: This first-ever brigade for Pakistani Shiite fighters began appearing in Syria in spring 2015. The Beginning: Many Iran-backed foreign fighter organizations have been fighting in Syria for years in an effort to cement the power of the Assad regime and retard the progress of rebels throughout the course of the conflict. Groups like Hezbollah have played integral parts in several Syrian Army operations including the siege of Homs, the battles of the Damascus suburbs and the back and forth stalemate in Aleppo. Some groups have formed, or rather, re-formed, since the rise of ISIS as a powerful force in 2014. The end of 2011 in Syria, when armed clashes between regime forces and the rebel Free Syrian Army began to pick up, marked the beginning of a conflict that would come to embroil most of the Middle East. In 2012 and 2013, it looked as if the rule of Bashar al-Assad was close to ending. He looked to be losing key allies, rebels had captured key border posts, and his hold on several key parts of the country was gone or in serious contention. By the end of 2014, these trends seemed to have been completely reversed, with forces allied to Assad having reclaimed much lost territory. However, as of February 2015, rebels appear to have re-gained the upper hand due mainly to the new Jaish al-Fatah coalition. Many of the Iran-backed foreign fighting groups first entered Syria on the pretense of protecting the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab in Damascus and other Shiite holy sites. Certain Sunni extremist groups consider worship at a shrine or the worship of relics to be takfir, or an impure practice. The extremists within the Afghani Taliban, the Ansar al-Dine militia in Mali, and ISIS in Iraq and Syria have each destroyed shrines and relics for this reason. However, while there were grounds for Shiites to be concerned about the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, the Shiite militias' relevance quickly extended far beyond the protection of Sayyida Zeinab’s shrine. The Trajectory: There is no exact zero moment for the entry of Shiite militias into Syria. In 2012, foreign fighters first began to appear, albeit only in small trickles. In 2013, the trickle became a torrent when Hezbollah announced its direct involvement in Syria1 and stormed the Syrian town of Qusayr, in Homs near the Lebanese border.vii This signaled a larger movement of Shiite foreigners coming into Syria to participate in combat operations. With this offensive, Hezbollah doubled the total number of foreign fighters in Syria in the span of a week. Since the Battle of Qusair, Iran-backed foreign fighter involvement in Syria has steadily increased under the aegis of Iran’s Al-Quds Brigade,viii which is commanded by the powerful and shadowy Iran- Iraq War veteran Qassem Suleimani. Suleimani has reportedly been running several ground operations inside Iraq in an attempt to push ISIS out of northern Iraq and back into Syria.ix He was also reported to have been in southern Syria, in the Deraa area, running operations there as well.x Both the Aghani Zulfiqar Brigade and the Iraqi Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade were formed in the aftermath of Hezbollah's striking victory at Qusair.