THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

1
Introduction
THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, which began in earnest at the end of 2011, has
become a regional and arguably a sectarian conflict. 1 Throughout 2012 and
early 2013, claims that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was “losing control”
to primarily Sunni rebel forces were common in Western and Middle East
media sources. 2 Reports streamed in showing that the Assad regime had lost
control of border posts with Iraq and that the embattled leader may even
have lost the support of its key ally Russia. 3 By the spring of 2014, Syria and
Iraq had essentially become a joined front, including thousands of combatants,
millions of displaced persons and refugees, along with the involvement
of multitudes of global actors. Yet at the time of this writing in late 2014,
Assad has not only survived, but forces supportive of his rule have retaken
and secured wide swaths of territory. How did such a feat occur?
Foreign fighters were central to both the rapid turnaround on the front
and the Assad regime’s continued survival. In line with the influx of anti-
Assad foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria, much research and coverage has
focused on Sunni jihadists—so much so that the term “foreign fighter” has become
a virtual synonym for Sunni jihadist. 4 Just as pivotal as the Sunni jihadists,
however, if less frequently covered, are the thousands of Shiite jihadist
fighters who have mobilized in opposition to their Sunni foes. These fighters
have come primarily from Iraq and Lebanon, but also from other countries.
Indeed, what may have appeared to be a disjointed or even organic flow of
Shiite fighters into Syria, ostensibly to defend the country’s Shiite holy sites,
was actually a highly organized geostrategic and ideological effort by Iran to
protect its ally in Damascus and project power within Syria, Iraq, and across
the Middle East.
The aid these Shiite jihadist fighters have provided to the Assad regime
represents just one of their accomplishments. Far more significant has been
the underlying creation and development of new front groups, a trend that
1