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Liwa Zainebiyoun

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Liwa Zainebiyoun
لواء زينبیون
CommandersSaqib Haider Karbalai ("Haj Haider") †
(2012-2017)[1]
Tehran Turi †
(2017-2024)
Irshad Hussain ("Qalandar") †
(2024)
Dates of operation2012,[2] but officially in late 2014 – present[3]
Allegiance
Active regions
Ideology
Sloganإِن يَنصُرْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ [Quran 3:160]
"If Allah helps you, none can defeat you."[17][18][19]
StatusActive (banned in Pakistan)[20]
Size~Several hundreds (est. 2014)[15]
c. 800+ (est. 2019)[15]
Part ofAxis of Resistance[19][21]
AlliesState allies

Non-State allies

OpponentsState opponents

Non-State opponents

Battles and wars
Designated as a terrorist group by Pakistan[35]

The Followers of Zainab Brigade (Arabic: لِوَاء الزَّيْنَبِيُون, romanized: Liwā' az-Zaynabīyūn; Persian: لواء زينبیون or لشکر زينبیون, Liwa Zeinabiyoun or Lashkare Zeinabiyoun; Urdu: لواء زینبیون), also known as the Zainebiyoun Brigade or Zainebiyoun Division, is a Pakistani Shia Khomeinist militant group actively engaged in the Syrian Civil War.[36][4] It draws recruits mainly from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran,[4][37] with some also Shia Muslim communities living in various regions of Pakistan.[3][38]

It was formed and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and operates under their command.[4] Initially tasked with defending the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque,[5][6] it has since entered frontlines across Syria.[3] Its dead are buried primarily in Iran.[4][6] A minimum of 158 of their fighters had died in Syria as of March 2019 (based on publicly announced funeral services), excluding those killed in Israeli airstrikes.[14] According to 2019 estimates, the total number of Pakistani fighters in the brigade barely exceeded 800.[15]

Overview

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Background

[edit]
Main article: Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan
Further information: Sectarian violence in Pakistan

The core of Liwa Zainebiyoun is constituted of former members and fighters of the Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, the former Shia Islamist armed organisation in Pakistan which fought against the Anti-Shia sectarian leadership of the banned terrorist groups Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, It had strong presence in Shia communities in Pakistan and it was headquartered in Thokar Niaz Beg the Shia majority town of Lahore, ran a "virtual state within a state" in the 1990s until its collapse in 2007 or 2010.[39] Later around 2012 or 2013 its former members formed the Zainebiyoun Brigade as a Pakistani Shiite volunteer group after the formation of Liwa Fatemiyoun Brigade, the Afghan Shiite volunteer group under the orders of IRGC,[40] According to news sources affiliated with the IRGC, the group was founded during Syrian civil war but officially started the armed operations late in 2014 especially in Syria to support Bashar al-Assad government against ISIL. Its fighters also were involved limitedly in War in Iraq (2013–2017) and Yemeni civil war under the support of IRGC as Brigade is the part of Iran's Axis of Resistance. The sources affiliated with the IRGC, Its official purpose is to defend the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque (the shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, sister of Imam Hussain and granddaughter of the prophet Muhammad) and other Shia holy sites in Syria and Iraq and to protect IRGC interests in Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict[15] also in Iran–Israel proxy conflict.[5] It operates primarily in Damascus defending holy sites. However, since 2015, it officially has engaged in intense offensives around Daraa[4][41] and Aleppo, along with other foreign Shia fighters.[3][42]

Recruitment and training

[edit]
Main article: Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war

The Pakistani Shiite volunteers have been fighting in various conflicts since 2012 especially in Syrian civil war on pro-government side under the orders of IRGC.[5] In addition, large numbers of Pakistani Shia fighters have fought on the pro-government side, mainly in the Zeinabiyoun Brigade, which has up to 1,000 fighters in Syria.[2] They originally fought in the Afghan Liwa Fatemiyoun, and only became numerous enough to warrant a distinct brigade in early 2015.[3] Some of the fighters are Hazara[37] and Baloch[43] while others are Pashtun (mainly from Parachinar),[15] Punjabi[44] or Balti from Gilgit-Baltistan[45] and Karachi[46] including Kashmiris from the Kashmir.[47] Like other Shiite foreign brigades in Syria, it is funded, trained, and overseen by the IRGC.[2][8]

Losses of volunteer fighters

[edit]
Main article: Belligerents in the Syrian civil war

In 2019, the U.S. State Department claimed that the over 158 Pakistani national fighters of Iranian-backed Zainebiyoun Brigade were killed in Syria between January 2012 and August 2018.[20]

On 9 April 2015, seven fighters were killed defending the Imam Hasan Mosque in Damascus and were buried in Qom, Iran.[5] In March 2016, six fighters were killed defending the Imam Reza shrine, also buried in Qom.[9] On 23 April, five more fighters were killed.[10] An estimated 69 fighters were killed between November 2014 and March 2016.[3]

In February 2018, the brigade was involved in the Battle of Khasham along with Russian Wagner Group and Interbrigades[48][49][50] against the US special forces and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and lost many fighters.[16]

Presence outside Syria

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Iraq

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Main article: War in Iraq (2013–2017)

The brigade fought in Iraq against ISIL during the War in Iraq (2013–17) with other foreign Shia fighters to defend and protect holy sites and Iraqi peoples from the ISIL.[32]

Yemen

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Main article: Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)

In 2019, Some media sources claim that the brigade is allegedly involved in Yemeni Civil War along with other foreign Shia fighters to fought against the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and to support Houthis.[15][33]

Pakistan

[edit]
Main article: Sectarian violence in Pakistan

In Pakistan the Zainebiyoun brigade has actively involved in Parachinar's sectarian clashes along with local Shia militas based in Parachinar region for the Protection of Shia Muslim community and to fight against the Anti-Shia banned sectarian terrorist groups Sipah-e-Sahaba, Pakistani Taliban, Islamic State – Khorasan Province and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for targeting Shia minority of Parachinar in sectarian attacks, however the Zainebiyoun brigade reportedly has strong presence and support base in Parachinar's Shia muslim community also have sent hundreds of fighters to Syria and Iraq from Parachinar region against ISIL under the support of IRGC.[51]

Reaction in Pakistan

[edit]
Main article: Sectarian violence in Pakistan

Reaction

[edit]

In December 2015, a bomb killed 25 and injured over 30 in Parachinar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility, and said that it was "revenge for the crimes against Syrian Muslims by Iran and Bashar al-Assad" and threatened to continue terror attacks if Parachinar citizens did not "stop sending people to take part in Syrian war".[24]

The government of Pakistan officially denies the presence of Pakistani fighters in Syria, and has been reluctant to take back members of the brigade caught in Syria.[45]

After the reports of presence of Pakistani fighters of Zainebiyoun brigade in Syria, The Pakistani Taliban claimed they have set up camps and sent hundreds of fighters to Syria to fight alongside Islamist jihadist groups opposed to Bashar al-Assad such as al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham and Ansar al-Tawhid in an effort to strengthen ties with al Qaeda against the government of Pakistan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Insurgency.[26][27][28]

Disappearance and death of the brigade commander

[edit]

The brigade's former commander Saqib Haider karbalai, Muhammad Jannati, also known by the Arabic-language nickname Haj Haider (Iranian nickname) in Syria he was a Pakistani Pashtun Shia militant from Parachinar he was well known for his Anti-America and Anti-Zionist views and speeches in his hometown, he had strong ties with Iran's Ayatollah regime and was a strong supporter of Wilayat al Faqih concept including Khomeinism ideology. The IRGC-affiliated source's claimed that the Haj Haider went Iran, Iraq and Syria multiple times for Ziyarah of Shia holy sites in 2000s where he meet many IRGC officers and had established close ties with them at the beginning of the Syrian civil war the IRGC appointed him and Afghan Shia militant Ali Reza Tavassoli as an Chief Commanders of Zainebiyoun and Fatemiyoun Brigade mainly appointed by Qasem Soleimani, the erstwhile Iranian commander of the Quds Force, as an commanders of Shia volunteer fighters from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen with training and funding from Iran to defend the Shia holy shrines from ISIL and it's subgroups they served as the commander of brigade until their death.[1]

In 2017, Saqib Haider Karbalai went missing while fighting alongside Syrian government forces during the Hama offensive (March–April 2017). The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported his death in 2019, claiming that the body of Haider was transferred to Tehran two years after he was killed in the Syrian city of Hama by ISIS terrorists. According to Tasnim News Agency, the identity of the commander of the Zainabiyoun Brigade was identified after a DNA test, and he was transferred to Tehran where he was to be buried. The news agency also reported that "his body has no head and no arms" and that he was killed in action in April 2017 in the Tal Turabi area in the Hama Governorate, during the offensive.[1]

Relationship with Liwa Fatemiyoun & Hezbollah Afghanistan

[edit]
Main article: Axis of Resistance
Further information: Hezbollah Afghanistan

According to researcher Phillip Smyth, Liwa Fatemiyoun, Liwa Zainebiyoun and Hezbollah Afghanistan were originally different groups, but showed such great overlap in ideology and membership by 2014 that they had become "incorporated". In contrast, researcher Oved Lobel continued to regard Liwa Fatemiyoun and Hezbollah Afghanistan as separate organizations in 2018, though groups were part of Iran's "regional proxy network".[19] Other sources such as Jihad Intel and Arab News have treated the militas as the same organization.[52] Researcher Michael Robillard called Liwa Fatemiyoun a "branch of Hezbollah Afghanistan". Iran is also known to have established branches of Hezbollah in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with several pro-Iranian groups operating in both countries by the Soviet–Afghan War.[17][18]: 175 

Designation as a terrorist organization and ban

[edit]

Liwa Zainebiyoun is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2019, saying it is composed of Pakistani nationals and provides "materiel support" to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC and in 2024 the Interior Ministry of Pakistan banned the Zainebiyoun Brigade, saying it "is engaged in certain activities which are prejudicial to the peace and security" of Pakistan. It did not elaborate, A ministry official confirmed the authenticity of the March 29 order and placement of the Zaynabiyoun Brigade on a government list of 79 proscribed organizations.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "التعرف على جثة امر لواء زينبيون الايراني الذي قتل في سوريا بنيران داعش الارهابي قبل عامين" [Identification of the body of the order of the Iranian Zainabiyoun Brigade, who was killed in Syria by ISIS terrorist fire two years ago]. IraqNewspaper.net (in Arabic). 12 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Iran recruits Pakistani Shias for combat in Syria". The Express Tribune. 11 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Liwa Zainebiyoun: Syria's Pakistani Fighters". iraqeye. 11 March 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Meet the Zainebiyoun Brigade: An Iranian Backed Pakistani Shia Militia Fighting in Syria". Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e Farhan Zahid (27 May 2016). "The Zainabiyoun Brigade: A Pakistani Shiite Militia Amid the Syrian Conflict". Terrorism Monitor Volume.
  6. ^ a b c "Funeral Service for Seven Pakistani Militants Killed in Syria; Qom, Iran, Apr 2015". Konflictcam. 20 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Iran recruits Pakistani Shias for combat in Syria". The Express Tribune. 11 December 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Increasing Number Of Afghans, Pakistanis Killed In Syria Buried In Iran". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 April 2015.
  9. ^ a b "The Zainabiyoun Brigade". پایگاه خبری تحلیلی فردا | Farda News. Farda News. 3 March 2016.
  10. ^ a b جهان|TABNAK, سایت خبری تحلیلی تابناك|اخبار ایران و. "پیکر ۵ شهید مدافع حرم در قم تشییع شد".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Alex Vatanka, Influence of iranian revolution in Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy Islamist Influence, I.B.Tauris (1989), pp. 148 & 155
  12. ^ Julius, Anthony (1 May 2015). Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-929705-4 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Michael, Robert; Rosen, Philip (1 May 2015). Dictionary of Antisemitism from the Earliest Times to the Present. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810858688 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ a b "Foreign Shiite combat fatalities in Syria and nationality since January 19, 2012." Ali Alfoneh. Twitter. 4 March 2019.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wigger, Leo (26 September 2019). ""Why Pakistan holds a key in the Iranian-Saudi confrontation"". magazine.zenith.me. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  16. ^ a b c d e Christoph Reuter. American Fury: The Truth About the Russian Deaths in Syria: Hundreds of Russian soldiers are alleged to have died in U.S. airstrikes at the beginning of February. Reporting by DER SPIEGEL shows that events were likely very different. Der Spiegel, 2 March 2018.
  17. ^ a b Ari Heistein; James West (20 November 2015). "Syria's Other Foreign Fighters: Iran's Afghan and Pakistani Mercenaries". National Interest. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  18. ^ a b Robillard, Michael (2021). "Syria". In Paul Burke; Doaa' Elnakhala; Seumas Miller (eds.). Global Jihadist Terrorism: Terrorist Groups, Zones of Armed Conflict and National Counter-Terrorism Strategies. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 167–187. ISBN 978-1-80037-129-3.
  19. ^ a b c Drums Of War: Israel And The "AXIS OF RESISTANCE" (PDF), International Crisis Group, 2 August 2010, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016
  20. ^ a b c "Pakistan bans Iran-backed Shiite group fighting in Syria". 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  21. ^ a b "After ISIS, Fatemiyoun Vows to Fight with "Axis of Resistance" to Destroy Israel". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  22. ^ Will Fulton, Joseph Holliday, and Sam Wyer, Iranian Strategy in Syria Archived 2016-02-01 at the Wayback Machine, Institute for the Study of War, May 2013
  23. ^ Kajjo, Sirwan (25 August 2016). "Who are the Turkey backed Syrian Rebels?". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  24. ^ a b Mehdi Hussain (13 December 2015). "At least 23 killed, 30 injured in Parachinar blast". The Express Tribune.
  25. ^ Ali, Imtiaz (17 May 2024). "Men held for street crime part of sectarian killing network: Karachi CTD". DAWN.COM.
  26. ^ a b Golovnina, Maria (14 July 2013). "Pakistan Taliban set up camps in Syria, join anti-Assad war". Reuters. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  27. ^ a b Wali, Ahmed (12 July 2013). "BBC News – Pakistan Taliban 'sets up a base in Syria'". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  28. ^ a b "Pakistan Taliban set up camps in Syria, join anti-Assad war". Al Arabiya. 14 July 2013. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  29. ^ Says, Motorhead (28 October 2016). "IRGC commander killed on eve of Aleppo battle | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org.
  30. ^ "Array of pro-Syrian government forces advances in Aleppo | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 9 December 2016.
  31. ^ Truzman, Joe (14 February 2020). "IRGC trained militias suffer losses in northwest Syria". Long War Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Limited Iranian-backed Pakistani fighters in Iraq to fight against ISIL in Iraq. But this is not a sign that Tehran lacks an interest in Iraqi affairs". November 2018.
  33. ^ a b Misto, Mohamad; Emre Özcan, Ethem. "Iran boosting Yemeni Houthis with Syrian fighters: Local sources". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  34. ^ "Dozens killed in sectarian clashes in northwestern Pakistan Sunni villages on fire as shia groups revenge call amid attack on shia pilgrims". Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  35. ^ Omar, Ahmed. "The interesting timing of Pakistan's Zainebiyoun designation amid Iran-Israel standoff". Middle East Monitor. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  36. ^ "Liwa Zainebiyoun".
  37. ^ a b Rondeaux, Candance; Toumaj, Amir; Ammar, Arif (28 July 2021). "Iran's Tricky Balancing Act in Afghanistan". War on the Rocks. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022. It also established the Fatemiyoun's Pakistani sister unit, the Zeynabiyoun Brigade. Thousands of ethnic Afghan and Pakistani Hazara foreign fighters fought and died with those units to help save the Assad regime.
  38. ^ "Pakistan reluctant to take back fighters captured in Syria". Hindustan Times. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  39. ^ Ravinder Kaur (5 November 2005). Religion, Violence and Political Mobilisation in South Asia. SAGE Publications. pp. 154–. ISBN 978-0-7619-3431-8.
  40. ^ Daily Times.com Vengeance, frictions reviving LJ and Sipah-e-Muhammad. April 7th, 2015
  41. ^ "Iran Tightens Its Grip On Syria Using Syrian And Foreign Forces". MEMRI. 5 May 2015.
  42. ^ "عصر جدید شهدای فاطمیون در رسانه ملی- اخبار فرهنگ حماس - اخبار فرهنگی تسنیم | Tasnim". خبرگزاری تسنیم | Tasnim (in Persian). Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  43. ^ "The Zainabiyoun Brigade: A Pakistani Shiite Militia Amid the Syrian Conflict". Jamestown.
  44. ^ Ahmed, Roohan (15 May 2019). "Missing men and the neighbouring country that cannot be named". Samaa News. Retrieved 29 April 2022. According to Aamir Rana, a security analyst and the director of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, scores of Pakistani Shias have been to Syria. "Many were arrested from Punjab and Parachinaar after they returned to Pakistan," Rana said.
  45. ^ a b "Pakistan reluctant to take back fighters captured in Syria". Hindustan Times. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  46. ^ Ali, Imtiaz (22 June 2017). "CTD seeks ban on 25 websites spreading 'terrorism, extremism'". Dawn. Retrieved 29 April 2022. Meanwhile, SSP CTD Omer Shahid Hamid told Dawn that many people from Pakistan, including Karachi, had gone to fight in Syria belonging to both Sunni and Shia communities.
  47. ^ "Kashmir – The New Battlefield For Saudi-Iran Proxy War – Israel Media Reports". 22 July 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  48. ^ ""Казак Владимир Логинов и член партии "Другая Россия" Кирилл Ананьев погибли в Сирии"" [Cossack Vladimir Loginov and member of the Other Russia party Kirill Ananyev died in Syria]. www.interfax.ru.
  49. ^ "Russians killed in clash with U.S.-led forces in Syria, say associates". Reuters. 12 February 2018.
  50. ^ "In Syria, Russian bad faith turns fatal". Washington Post. 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  51. ^ "Dozens killed in sectarian clashes in northwestern Pakistan Sunni villages on fire as shia groups revenge call amid attack on shia pilgrims". Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  52. ^ Majid Rafizadeh (9 September 2021). "Afghan chaos an opportunity for Iranian regime". Arab News. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
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