THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

40 n THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA
fighters and commanders for its Syria campaign. In March 2014, a Lebanese-
American Shiite living in Michigan was arrested by the FBI and accused of
attempting to join Hezbollah and then fight in Syria. 211 Hassan Laqis, a key
logistical organizer for Hezbollah and its Syria campaign, was assassinated
by unknown assailants in December 2013. 212 Laqis had been a leader in Hezbollah’s
Canadian procurement network. Fawzi Muhammad Ayoub, another
high-ranking Hezbollah member with dual Canadian-Lebanese citizenship
and also on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list, was killed fighting in Syria
in May 2014. 213
Reports of Shiite fighters from other Arab countries—particularly in the
Gulf—joining the many militant groups remain relatively rare. In May 2013,
reports emerged of the death of a Saudi Shiite fighter, Ahmed Adnan al-
Qaraoush. Pro-Saudi sources claimed Qaraoush was killed fighting in Homs
and was a member of Hezbollah al-Hejaz, a Saudi Hezbollah affiliate. 214 Nevertheless,
the lack of reported deaths and recruitment of Gulf Shiites could
reflect Iran and its proxies’ struggle to recruit within predominantly Sunni
states that are adversarial toward Tehran.
Other claims, made primarily by Syrian rebels and their supporters, indicate
that Yemeni fighters associated with the Fiver Shiite Houthis—and
associated with Ansar Allah—had also been deployed to Syria. In other
reports, Pakistani Shiite fighters were deployed. 215 However, little evidence
suggests the actual activity of Yemeni and Pakistani fighters in Syria. No
martyrdom announcements have been made, and the organizations to
which these fighters may have belonged have not issued any statements
regarding their presence in Syria.
On social media pages supportive of the IRGC and LAFA, the latter’s
commander, Abu Ajeeb, was photographed and filmed with “Somali holy
warriors.” 216
Notwithstanding these cases, Afghan Shiite jihadists have provided the
largest supply of non-Arab foreign fighters. As early as October 2012, elements
associated with the opposition Free Syrian Army claimed to have
captured an Afghan Shiite fighter named Mortada Hussein. He was later
interrogated by the rebels on a short YouTube video clip. The presence of
other such fighters became a more regular and public subject beginning in
spring 2013, around when Hezbollah announced it had deployed forces to
Syria. Subsequently, opposition and regime social media circulated unconfirmed
images of uniformed Afghans posing together and holding weapons.
In many cases, their faces—which tended to be ethnically distinct—were