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THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

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MULTIPLY<strong>IN</strong>G <strong>SHIITE</strong> ISLAMIST MILITIAS n 39<br />

ing the Iraq war. 208 The group’s admission to following Khamenei’s leadership<br />

and absolute velayat-e faqih strongly suggests continued links to Iran.<br />

AAH, too, was instrumental in creating spinoffs for the Syria fight.<br />

Akram Kaabi, an AAH founder and leader, was responsible for launching<br />

and leading HHN. Initially, claims suggested that Kaabi had formed<br />

another group, the Haidar al-Karrar Brigade, over a dispute with LAFA<br />

leaders over fighting in areas outside Sayyeda Zainab. 209 However, this<br />

appears to have been a cover story given that HHN has reported regularly<br />

sending fighters under its own banner to Aleppo since June 2013. Additionally,<br />

HHN still deploys forces in the vicinity of Sayyeda Zainab, namely<br />

Liwa al-Imam al-Hassan al-Mujtaba. Groups associated with Liwa Dhulfiqar,<br />

which itself split from LAFA but maintains a close relationship with<br />

the network, fought in areas throughout southern Syria. Adding further<br />

levels of absurdity to the initial claim regarding HHN’s formation, LAFA,<br />

Liwa Dhulfiqar, the RRF, AAH’s Liwa Kafil Zainab, and the Badr Organization,<br />

among others, have all reportedly been active outside the Damascus<br />

area. If anything, HHN was yet another Iranian proxy front group used to<br />

expand Tehran’s influence and recruit more fighters for Syria.<br />

While Iran’s proxies provided most organizational deployments to Syria,<br />

elements from the Sadrist Movement were also called upon to supply fighters.<br />

In the case of Liwa Dhulfiqar, the group’s commanders would intimate<br />

they had connections to the more elite, Iranian-trained and equipped Liwa<br />

al-Youm al-Mawud. Abu Ithnan al-Budairi, one of Liwa Dhulfiqar’s operational<br />

commanders, was photographed in front of a poster belonging to the<br />

group. He would affirm his links to the organization and post pictures with<br />

his family members in front of Liwa al-Youm al-Mawud posters. 210<br />

Another source for Iran’s expanding Iraqi proxy network has been splinters<br />

associated with the Mahdi Army. These Sadrist Movement fragments helped<br />

establish AAH as well as LAFA, LIH, Liwa Dhulfiqar, and possibly the RRF.<br />

Despite imagery and claims projecting loyalty to al-Sadr, as discussed earlier,<br />

many of these groups have simultaneously claimed adherence to absolute<br />

velayat-e faqih, implying a break from al-Sadr’s tenets.<br />

Exotic Foreign Fighters<br />

Shiite fighters from outside the usual recruitment zones of Iraq and Lebanon<br />

have helped push the idea of a truly global pan-Shiite jihad in Syria.<br />

In the United States and Canada, cases were observed of Hezbollah finding

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