Liwa Zainebiyoun
لواء زينبیون
Also known asHezbollah Pakistan[1][2]
CommanderSaqib Haider Karbalai (also known as Haj Haider from 2014 to 2017 unknown after the Haj Haider since 2017) †[3]
Dates of operationlate 2014 – present[4]
Allegiance
Active regions
Ideology
StatusActive
Size~Several hundreds (est. 2014)[18]
c. 800+ (est. 2019)[18]
Part ofAxis of Resistance[20][21]
AlliesState allies

Non-State allies

OpponentsState opponents

Non-State opponents

Battles and warsSyrian civil war
War in Iraq (2013–2017)[26]
Yemeni Civil War[11]
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir[27]

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), literally Zainebiyoun Brigade, also known as Zainebiyoun Division, is a Shia Khomeinist militant group actively engaged in Syrian civil war.[31][5] It draws recruits mainly from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran,[5] [32] with some also Shia Muslim communities living in various regions of Pakistan.[4][33]

It was formed and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and operates under their command.[5] Initially tasked with defending the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque,[6][7] it has since entered frontlines across Syria.[4] Its dead are buried primarily in Iran.[5][7] Approximately 158 of their fighters have died in Syria as of March 2019, excluding those killed in Israeli airstrikes.[34] According to 2019 estimates, the total number of Pakistani fighters in the brigade barely exceeded 800.[18]

History

Pakistanis have been fighting in Syria since 2013.[6] They originally fought in the Afghan Liwa Fatemiyoun, and only became numerous enough to warrant a distinct brigade in early 2015.[4] Some of the fighters are Hazara[32] and Baloch[35] while others are Pashtun (mainly from Parachinar),[18] Punjabi[36] or Balti from Gilgit-Baltistan[37] and Karachi.[38] Like other Shia foreign brigades in Syria, it is funded, trained, and overseen by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.[8][9]

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.[6] It operates primarily in Damascus defending these holy sites. However, since 2015, it has also engaged in offensive action around Daraa[5][39] and Aleppo, along with other foreign Shia fighters.[4]

On 9 April 2015, seven fighters were killed defending the Imam Hasan Mosque in Damascus and were buried in Qom, Iran.[6] In March 2016, six fighters were killed defending the Imam Reza shrine, also buried in Qom.[40] On 23 April, five more fighters were killed.[41] An estimated 69 fighters were killed between November 2014 and March 2016.[4]

In early 2018 the group was involved in the Battle of Khasham against US special forces and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.[19]

Reaction in Pakistan

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".[25]

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.[37]

Death of brigade commander

The Saqib Haider Karbalai, Muhammad Jannati also known as Haj Haider was a Pakistani Pashtun Shia militant belongs from the Parachinar, He was the commander of the Zainabiyoun Brigade, which includes Pakistani fighters trained by the Iranian Quds Force to fight in Syria and Iraq.[42]

In 2017, Saqib Haider went missing while fighting alongside the forces of Assad regime during the Hama offensive (March–April 2017). The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported his death in 2019, claiming that the body of Saqib 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 to be buried on Thursday. Tasnim news agency reported that “his body has no head and no arms" and that he was killed in April 2017 in the Tal Turabi area in Hama governorate during offensive.[43]

In February 2018, militants of the group were involved in the Battle of Khasham against US special forces and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.[19]

Relationship with Liwa Fatemiyoun & 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".[44] Other sources such as Jihad Intel and Arab News have treated the militas as the same organization.[45] 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.[46][47]: 175 

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ari Heistein; James West (20 November 2015). "Syria's Other Foreign Fighters: Iran's Afghan and Pakistani Mercenaries". National Interest. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "DOSSIERS OF POLITICAL PARTIES INTENT ON EXPORTING AN ISLAMIC REVOLUTION". Wilson Center. 1999. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Liwa Zainebiyoun: Syria's Pakistani Fighters". iraqeye. 11 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "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.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Farhan Zahid (27 May 2016). "The Zainabiyoun Brigade: A Pakistani Shiite Militia Amid the Syrian Conflict". Terrorism Monitor Volume.
  7. 1 2 3 "Funeral Service for Seven Pakistani Militants Killed in Syria; Qom, Iran, Apr 2015". Konflictcam. 20 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Iran recruits Pakistani Shias for combat in Syria". The Express Tribune. 11 December 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Increasing Number Of Afghans, Pakistanis Killed In Syria Buried In Iran". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. 1 2 Misto, Mohamad; Emre Özcan, Ethem. "Iran boosting Yemeni Houthis with Syrian fighters: Local sources". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "The Zainabiyoun Brigade". Farda News. 3 March 2016.
  13. ↑ 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)
  14. ↑ Alex Vatanka, Influence of iranian revolution in Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy Islamist Influence, I.B.Tauris (1989), pp. 148 & 155
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ Michael, Robert; Rosen, Philip (1 May 2015). Dictionary of Antisemitism from the Earliest Times to the Present. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810858688 – via Google Books.
  17. ↑ "Foreign Shiite combat fatalities in Syria and nationality since January 19, 2012." Ali Alfoneh. Twitter. 4 March 2019.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wigger, Leo (26 September 2019). ""Why Pakistan holds a key in the Iranian-Saudi confrontation"". magazine.zenith.me. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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.
  20. ↑ 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
  21. ↑ "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. ↑ "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.
  23. ↑ 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
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. 1 2 Mehdi Hussain (13 December 2015). "At least 23 killed, 30 injured in Parachinar blast". The Express Tribune.
  26. ↑ "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.
  27. ↑ "Kashmir – The New Battlefield For Saudi-Iran Proxy War – Israel Media Reports". 22 July 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  28. ↑ Says, Motorhead (28 October 2016). "IRGC commander killed on eve of Aleppo battle | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org.
  29. ↑ "Array of pro-Syrian government forces advances in Aleppo | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 9 December 2016.
  30. ↑ Truzman, Joe (14 February 2020). "IRGC trained militias suffer losses in northwest Syria". Long War Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  31. ↑ "Liwa Zainebiyoun".
  32. 1 2 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.
  33. ↑ "Pakistan reluctant to take back fighters captured in Syria". Hindustan Times. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  34. ↑ "Foreign Shiite combat fatalities in Syria and nationality since January 19, 2012." Ali Alfoneh. Twitter. 4 March 2019.
  35. ↑ "The Zainabiyoun Brigade: A Pakistani Shiite Militia Amid the Syrian Conflict". Jamestown.
  36. ↑ 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.
  37. 1 2 "Pakistan reluctant to take back fighters captured in Syria". Hindustan Times. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  38. ↑ 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.
  39. ↑ "Iran Tightens Its Grip On Syria Using Syrian And Foreign Forces". MEMRI. 5 May 2015.
  40. ↑ "The Zainabiyoun Brigade". Farda News. 3 March 2016.
  41. ↑ 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)
  42. ↑ "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.
  43. ↑ "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.
  44. ↑ 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
  45. ↑ Majid Rafizadeh (9 September 2021). "Afghan chaos an opportunity for Iranian regime". Arab News. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  46. ↑ Ari Heistein; James West (20 November 2015). "Syria's Other Foreign Fighters: Iran's Afghan and Pakistani Mercenaries". National Interest. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  47. ↑ 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.
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