THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

34 n THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA
Iraq and [there is a] need to defend sanctities there.” 183 This claim was made a
full month before ISIS initiated its main offensive that took Mosul. This shift
was also evident in Internet-based recruitment and the redeployment back to
Iraq of many Iraqi Shiite fighters who had gained prominence in Syria.
Iraqi SWAT Teams in Damascus?
Suspicions held, since the first images emerged of Iraqi Shiite fighters in Syria,
that some might belong to the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF), SWAT
teams, and other units. On this count, attention focused especially on AAH, the
Badr Organization, Kataib Hezbollah, LAFA, LIH, and the RRF, which were
seen as having close ties to Iraqi internal security and military forces. Whether
these hints of affiliation reflected deliberate propaganda, perhaps to misdirect
the groups’ monitors away from deeper infiltrations, is unknown. Regardless,
they were present in imagery and music released by Shiite militia groups populated
by Iraqi personnel. 184
In particular, signifiers such as the distinctive face masks worn by many
ISOF and SWAT team members appeared on Iraqi Shiite militiamen outside
the Sayyeda Zainab shrine. 185 Velcro patches reading “SWAT” or “ISOF” were
commonly affixed to Shiite militiamen and their camouflage uniforms. 186
Customized camouflage-painted rifles, weapons often associated with ISOF
units, also appeared. 187 (More generally, see appendix 6 for a discussion of
weapons tied to Shiite militias.)
On AAH social media pages, it was claimed that one of the group’s
fighters, Karrar Abed al-Amir Fatlawi Abu Assad (a.k.a. Karrar), who
was reportedly killed in Syria in spring 2013, belonged to the Iraqi army’s
Muthanna Brigade, 188 a claim bolstered by photos of Karrar operating as
part of or alongside the brigade and other Iraqi troops. 189 Reports indicate
that the predominantly Shiite Muthanna Brigade has been heavily involved
in sectarian attacks and, during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, almost came
to blows with U.S. forces. In 2007, citing a Sunni leader affiliated with the
sahwa movement, the New York Times claimed that the Muthanna Brigade
was “infiltrated by Iranian-sympathizing militiamen who abuse Sunnis.” 190
Since Karrar was one of the first AAH members declared killed in Syria,
he may have been part of a core group of well-trained, experienced fighters
initially deployed to establish themselves in the country. These fighters were
presumably picked from official military units whose extensive training had
included that from U.S. advisors during the Iraq war.