THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

JOINING OF FRONTS n 49
In Iraq, attacks specifically targeting Iran’s proxies that had sent forces
to Syria occurred less frequently, but were no less deadly. The more targeted
bombings coincided roughly with an anti-Shiite campaign launched by Sunni
jihadists throughout Iraq. On the same day as the al-Ruwais explosion in Lebanon,
two car bombs were detonated near the headquarters of al-Ahad news,
a station serving as AAH’s version of Hezbollah’s al-Manar. 254 Simultaneously,
another four bombs were set off in Shiite-populated areas of Baghdad. The
most deadly attack directly targeting an Iranian proxy occurred on April 25,
2014, during a large AAH rally in Baghdad, with more than thirty killed. 255
From Front Lines to Ballot Box
Shiite fighters in the Syrian war have not limited their activities to the battlefront.
Returning to Iraq, many exchanged their fatigues for jackets and slacks
and ran for positions in parliament. These figures demonstrated a close link
to former Iraqi prime minister Maliki, with many of Iran’s Shiite proxies that
had sent forces to Syria also belonging to Maliki’s State of Law Alliance
(SLA). During the May 2014 elections for seats in Iraq’s parliamentary body
known as the Council of Representatives, veterans of the Syrian conflict and
their parties continued to use their wartime activities to win votes.
For example, when Abu Mousa al-Amiri, an AAH commander in Syria,
ran on AAH’s ticket, his service in Syria was actively showcased in posters
and online venues. 256 Amiri’s leadership position within AAH was further
demonstrated in other photos taken during a summer 2013 visit by an AAH
clerical leader and cofounder, Muhammad al-Tabatabai, to Syria. Amiri
closely accompanied the leader during the trip. Other candidates fielded by
AAH similarly emphasized the group’s positioning of forces in Syria and the
“defense of the shrines” narrative in election posters and Internet posts.
Despite these groups’ overt role as Shiite proxies of Iran, Maliki actively
courted them and rolled many into his own electoral alliance. According to
an August 2, 2013, statement from HTI, the parent party for Saraya Talia al-
Khurasani, the group would be part of the SLA and its secretary-general, Ali
al-Yasiri, who served as a field commander in Syria, would run in the May 2014
elections. The Badr Organization, too, maintained extensive links with the SLA,
winning twenty-two seats in the May 2014 elections. Additionally, throughout
2013, the group’s leader, Hadi al-Ameri, was Iraq’s minister of transportation.
Most prominent among the many Shiite militia veterans to serve in Syria
and then run for parliament on Maliki’s slate was Falah Hasan Jassim al-Harishawi
(a.k.a. Mustafa al-Khazali), the purported secretary-general of KSS.