THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

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Joining of Fronts: Blowback
in Iraq and Lebanon
SHIITE MILITIA ACTIVITIES in Syria were not without their costs in foreign
fighters’ home countries, particularly Lebanon and Iraq, where Shiite
elements were targeted. In Lebanon, the first strike in a campaign against
Hezbollah and Iranian interests occurred following the battle of al-Qusayr,
with Sunni jihadists hitting Bir al-Abed in Dahiya, wounding about fifty. 246
Following further fighting between Hezbollah and Syrian rebel elements in
August, Nasrallah made a rare public appearance on Jerusalem Day, the anti-
Israel event created by Ayatollah Khomeini. In the speech, he ridiculed Sunni
Arab regimes for acting more strongly against Iran than they did against Israel.
Nasrallah added, staking out his sectarian position, “Allow me at this time to
speak as a Shia...We, the Shia of Ali ibn Abi Talib of the world, will never
abandon Palestine or the Palestinian people.” 247
Thirteen days later, Sunni jihadists retaliated with a bomb targeting the
al-Ruwais section of Dahiya near the Sayyid al-Shuhada complex, often
used by Nasrallah for speeches. 248 Twenty-one people were killed and
another 250 reportedly injured. 249 The Brigades of Aisha, a reference to
Muhammad’s second wife, who is generally held in low regard by Shiites,
claimed responsibility for the attack. 250 In November 2013, a double suicide
bombing struck the Iranian embassy, located in the Jinah area of southern
Beirut, with a similar toll: twenty-three killed and around 150 wounded. 251
In June 2014, ISIS struck at the Lebanese state, which the group has cast
as an extension of Hezbollah. At the Duroy Hotel in Beirut, a suicide bomber
wounded three members of Lebanese General Security as they attempted to
apprehend an ISIS cell in the city. 252 In its statement taking credit for the
attack, ISIS said, “We tell the Party of Satan [a derogatory reference to Hezbollah,
the “Party of God”] and its agent, the Lebanese army, that this is the
first rain and we tell you that there are hundreds of people seeking suicide,
who love the blood of rejectionists [used pejoratively to refer to Shiites].” 253
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