THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

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Building an Army for Zainab
REPRESENTING THE MOST dynamic and among the most numerous contingents
of Shiite foreign fighters, Iraqi units have helped create a bulwark for
the Assad regime. Along with Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite jihadists have formed
the core Iranian proxy units sent to Syria.
Iraqi Shiite fighters have been organized into many, often overlapping
groups, the first and best known belonging to what could be called the LAFA-
Syria network. Militias emerging from this network have often assumed their
own independent profiles. With leadership and recruitment apparatuses
based in either Iraq or Syria—or at times both—these groups’ efforts have
focused on Syria, often ostensibly on the defense of Sayyeda Zainab.
Many of these militias, established initially by the Assad regime as Popular
Committees, were later re-formed and trained by Iranian and Hezbollah
forces, as happened with the creation of the National Defense Forces (NDF)
from smaller regional pro-Assad militias. 132 Regularly, advisors from Lebanese
Hezbollah and Iran’s IRGC were also attached to these units and allowed to
influence the groups’ military and ideological development. (See appendix 1 for
a chart on phases of Shiite militia development.)
Understanding the LAFA-Syria Network
and Its Commanders
The name LAFA has become synonymous with the Shiite jihad in Syria.
Recognizing LAFA’s successful “brand,” many groups, including AAH, Hezbollah,
and Saraya Talia al-Khurasani, have proclaimed their fighters’ joint
membership with the network. 133
Initially, LAFA was formed like most Popular Committees (lijan alshabiya),
using a core of Shiite fighters based around the Sayyeda Zainab
shrine. Its inception likely dates to late summer or early fall 2012, when
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