Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
AAH is a Shiite organization that promotes the ideals of the Iranian Revolution, most notably the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih (“guardianship of the jurists” in Arabic). Wilayat al-Faqih entails the complete implementation of political Shiism under a faqih, or Islamic jurist, who is entrusted with temporal political authority over God’s people. Ruhollah Khomeini developed the doctrine in the 1970s and established Iran’s post-revolutionary theocratic government. As head of this government, Khomeini took up the position of Grand Ayatollah in line with the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih.[111]
AAH is often called a Khomeinist organization and follows Iran’s current Grand Ayatollah, Ayatollah Khamenei, as their marja’ – an eminent Shiite cleric to whom followers look for political and spiritual guidance. In line with its allegiance to Iran and the principles of the Iranian Revolution, AAH seeks to institute a Shia Islamic government in Iraq by establishing the shariah as the country’s sole legal system and entrusting governance to a qualified jurist. As a result, AAH shares considerable ideological overlap with Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Khomeinist groups in Iraq.[112] In addition to looking to Iran for spiritual guidance, AAH also retains a close spiritual allegiance to Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, one of Iraq’s most famous and revered Shiite clerics.[113]
During the U.S. occupation of Iraq, AAH’s main goal was the expulsion of U.S. troops from Iraq and thus directed the majority of its attacks against U.S. forces in the region.[114] However, since the U.S. withdrawal in 2011, AAH has sought to rebrand itself as an Iraqi nationalist political organization rather than an explicitly anti-Western group. Despite its attempts to portray itself as nationalist, AAH promotes Iranian interests in Iraq and pursues closer links between the two states.[115] Ultimately, the group aims to establish a Shia-controlled state and implement the shariah throughout Iraq. Concurrently, the group also sought to support the Assad regime in Syria and prevent the anti-Shia Islamic State (IS) advance in both Syria and Iraq.[116]
As of late 2020, there is evidence of a disagreement in strategy between AAH and Iran. In response to IRGC commander Esmail Ghaani’s request in November 2020 that the muqawama (“resistance factions;” a nickname used to distinguish Iran-aligned militias) refrain from attacking the U.S. in Iraq, AAH leader Qais al-Khazali asserted, “the Americans occupy our country [Iraq], not yours [Iran].”[117] Khazali clarified the group’s relationship with Iran, stating that although “there is a convergence of interests between the muqawama and Tehran,” this convergence does not “change the fact that the Iraqi resistance has 100% patriotic motives.”[118]
Recently, AAH has begun to expand its nationalistic outlook from a purely anti-U.S. and anti-Israel point of view. Since the beginning of Turkey’s military operations targeting Kurdish militias in northern Iraq in June 2020, AAH and other muqawama groups have denounced Turkey and called for retaliation. In June 2020, AAH leader Qais al-Khazali condemned the Turkish military operation and demanded the federal and Kurdish regional governments redevelop their policies to confront Turkey’s “dangerous violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”[119] Several months thereafter, in November 2020, Khazali said that Turkey’s military presence in northern Iraq “would be more dangerous, bigger, and more extreme than the American threat,” warranting a strong military and diplomatic response from the Iran-aligned “resistance factions” and the federal and regional governments.[120]
Following the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in December 2011, AAH declared its intention to join the Iraqi political process and transition away from militancy, which Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki helped facilitate.[121] By 2012, AAH began rebranding itself as a nationalist Shiite political party.[122] The group established political offices in Baghdad, al-Khalis, Basra, Tal Afar, Hillah, and Najaf. AAH also sent political delegations to meet with tribal leaders in Dhi-Qar, Muthanna, and Maysan provinces, and it began providing charitable services to Shiite communities across the country.
AAH’s entry into formal politics drew the ire of the Sadrists – a political movement consisting mainly of Shiite Islamist, Iraqi nationalists that follow Muqtada al-Sadr, an influential Shiite cleric in Iraq. Before AAH announced its intention to enter formal politics, the Sadrists were the primary allies of Maliki’s Dawlat al-Qanoon (“State of Law” in English) coalition in Parliament and had had a history of tensions with AAH; to this end, Muqtada al-Sadr stated in 2010 that he would not allow AAH to participate in politics because of the group’s history of “murdering Iraqi civilians.”[123] AAH’s entry into formal politics appeared to tip the balance of power in Parliament away from the Sadrists by creating a new potential ally for Maliki/Dawlat al-Qanoon.[124] In addition to the Sadrists’ parliamentary rivalry with AAH, the two groups’ histories and competing Shiite Islamist ideologies made cooperation unlikely, if not impossible. AAH was formed in 2006 by defectors from Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army who sought strategic autonomy and closer political and military ties to Iran – whose influence in Iraq and ideology the Sadrists opposed.[125] Tensions resulting from the groups’ ideological differences were compounded by irreconcilable political goals, as both groups wished to become the preeminent social and political organization among Iraqi Shia.[126] In the 2014 Iraqi parliamentary elections, AAH’s political party, al-Sadiqoon, won one seat in Parliament and allied with Maliki’s Dawlat al-Qanoon coalition.[127]
In preparation for the 2018 parliamentary elections. Sadiqoon stepped up its public presence. The group proved adept at campaigning. It utilized a lively and polished social media presence and provided various public services – such as building schools and sponsoring soccer games.[128] AAH also offered humanitarian aid following earthquakes in northern Sulaymaniyah province in November 2017, though residents ultimately refused to accept AAH’s aid, citing its reported history of human rights abuses.[129] Alongside this aid to the community, there were also incidents of violence on the campaign trail. In one notable incident, AAH personnel opened fire on students at the University of al-Qadisiyah after they threw their shoes at AAH leader Qais al-Khazali.[130]
In January 2018, al-Sadiqoon joined a coalition called Fatah al-Mubin (“Manifest Victory” in Arabic) comprised primarily of Iraqi militias supported by Iran, such as KH, AAH, the Badr Organization, and Kata’ib Imam Ali.[131] Hadi al-Ameri, the leader of the Badr Organization, led the Fatah Coalition from its founding until his resignation in June 2020.[132] During his tenure as head of the Badr Organization and the Fatah Coalition, Ameri maintained extensive ties to Iran and the Quds Force.[133] It appears as though Fatah is the political wing of Iran’s broader effort to gain more influence in Iraq, given the inclinations of many of its leaders and constituent parties towards Tehran and its religious authorities: the bloc’s leader, Hadi al-Amiri, stated Fatah “is the same project of Imam Khomeini,” referring to Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran’s theocratic government.[134]
AAH and the Fatah coalition were quite successful in Iraq’s May 2018 parliamentary elections. Out of the 329 seats in the Iraqi parliament, Fatah won 47 seats, the second most of any coalition behind Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon alliance (which won 54 seats). AAH’s Sadiqoon won 15 of Fatah’s 47 total seats.[135] With the largest share of seats in parliament, Sadr’s Sairoon alliance began to assemble a governing coalition.[136] However, Fatah later claimed a majority of its own after striking an alliance with Maliki’s Dawlat al-Qanoon coalition and defecting members of Prime Minister Abadi’s coalition.[137] After a period of parliamentary gridlock, Fatah eventually backed the formation of prime minister-designate Adel ‘Abd al-Mahdi’s government with Sairoon at the head of the governing coalition in parliament.[138]
Since entering parliament, AAH and Fatah have used their considerable political clout to advance their own interests and align Iraq’s politics closer to Iran. For example, in the lead-up to the 2018 elections, spokesmen for AAH made their interest in expelling U.S. forces clear.[139] Months later, in January 2020, AAH-aligned lawmakers within Fatah played a substantial role in orchestrating the passage of a parliamentary resolution calling on the government to expel U.S. troops from Iraq following the death of IRGC-Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.[140]
Fatah and AAH played an important role during the formation of the new Iraqi government in early 2020. Fatah initially opposed Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s nomination to the Iraqi premiership. However, after receiving the bloc’s choice candidate for the position of Labour & Social Affairs Minister, Fatah voted for Kadhimi’s government.[141]
Alongside its broader efforts to expand its influence within Iraq’s formal politics, AAH has recently begun to show a significant capacity to organize street protests to promote its views and defend its interests. The most notable instance of AAH-sponsored protest activity came on December 31, 2019. The group played a role in organizing and executing the militia-led demonstrations near the U.S. embassy compound in central Baghdad. AAH leader Qais al-Khazali was photographed attending the demonstration, alongside then-KH leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri.[142] The demonstrations escalated into an attack on the U.S. embassy by protestors.[143]
AAH has also expanded its political influence into Lebanon, where it established a political office and sent delegations to meet with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Lebanese government officials in 2011.[144] However, as of May 2021, there is no evidence indicating whether AAH continues to operate this office in Lebanon.
During the U.S. occupation of Iraq, AAH primarily targeted U.S. troops and their Iraqi allies. The group claimed responsibility for over 6,000 attacks on U.S. soldiers between 2006 and 2011. AAH was known for its use of explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) and improvised rocketed-assisted mortars (IRAMs) against U.S. troops and its high-profile kidnappings and executions of western nationals and Iraqi citizens working for western corporations.
The Islamic State’s (IS) rise to prominence in 2013-14 created a common enemy for AAH and the United States. As a member of the Popular Mobilization Forces, AAH engaged in limited cooperation with U.S. troops. However, the group maintained a level of animosity toward the United States. For example, in 2016, AAH released a statement threatening to attack U.S. personnel in Iraq.[145]
Following the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, AAH reoriented itself toward formal political participation in Iraqi politics. Though the group claimed a commitment to non-violence, it refused to surrender its weapons to the Iraqi government. In 2012, AAH used these weapons to assassinate several Sadrist candidates participating in the 2013 elections.[146]
After AAH’s entrance into politics, the group remained partnered with Prime Minister Maliki and his political coalition. AAH quickly earned itself a reputation for being the military muscle behind Maliki’s Shiite political bloc.[147] AAH was accused of standing in for the police force in Anbar province on Prime Minister Maliki’s orders. The group also reportedly conducted purges of anti-Maliki Sunni tribesmen in Iraq’s southern provinces to ensure a Shiite demographic majority in those provinces.[148] A report published by Human Rights Watch in July 2014 corroborated these claims and accused AAH of killing 109 Sunni tribesmen between March and July 2014 in the towns surrounding Baghdad.[149]
In 2017, AAH’s political wing, al-Sadiqoon, joined the Fatah Coalition.[150] AAH’s political capital grew with Fatah’s success in the 2018 elections, in which it gained 15 seats in Parliament.[151] For more information about AAH’s political activities, see the “Political Activities” section of this profile.
In October 2019, anti-government protestors demonstrated in Baghdad and across Iraq’s southern provinces. Their grievances centered on government corruption and failure to foster economic opportunity and provide public services.[152] As the movement progressed, protestors condemned Iran for enabling government corruption and interfering in Iraqi affairs through PMF.[153]
Iraqi security forces and PMF forces both aggressively cracked down on the protests. AAH has worked alongside regular security forces to suppress demonstrations and intimidate protesters. AAH has been accused of using violent tactics to disperse and intimidate protesters in Baghdad, Nasiriyah, and other major cities, including deploying snipers on rooftops overlooking major protest sites.[154] AAH and other militias have also been accused of carrying out the kidnappings and killings of prominent protest movement leaders and civil activists in Iraq.[155] AAH also reportedly clashed with other armed groups that sought to protect protesters from abuse. For example, AAH militants clashed at first with protesters and later with members of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam that had sided with protesters in the southeastern city of Amarah.[156] By February 2021, the death toll from the protests was over 600, with thousands of injuries and an unknown number of arrests and torture cases.[157] AAH and its leader Qais al-Khazali have denied all accusations levied against the group.[158]
AAH has also returned to targeting the U.S. diplomatic and military presence in Iraq, even after it entered into the formal Iraqi political system. Observers believe that AAH has continued its militant activities by using so-called “shadow groups.” These groups – many of which were formed by the militias shortly after the deaths of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in early 2020 – reportedly claim public responsibility for attacks in the more established militias’ stead to create plausible deniability, allowing the militias to continue militant activities subtly.[159] Other major militant groups in Iraq, such as Kata’ib Hezbollah and the Badr Organization, use these shadow groups for the same purpose. AAH likely used this tactic when, on November 17, 2020, rockets fell near the U.S. embassy compound in central Baghdad in violation of the unilaterally-imposed “truce” between major Shiite militant groups and the United States.[160] Sabereen News, a news service observers believe to be linked to AAH, almost immediately reported via Telegram that a group named Ashab al-Kahf (“Companions of the Cave,” in Arabic) had claimed responsibility for the attack.[161] Ashab al-Kahf has previously stated that it is not affiliated with any existing militia groups.[162] However, analysts have generally concluded that AAH is likely using Ashab al-Kahf as a front to publicly appear compliant with the truce while continuing its militant campaign.[163]
AAH Media Strategy and Tactics
Besides its military campaign, AAH has also developed a considerable media presence through the group’s creation or sponsorship of proprietary media outlets. The outlet “Sabereen News” is thought to be an important component of the group’s media strategy and maintains Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts under that name. With a subscriber base of 80,000 on Telegram – the network’s primary medium – Sabereen serves as a major outlet for the militias’ public relations efforts. Sabereen publishes content primarily from AAH and KH, including claims of responsibility for major attacks. Analysts believe that Sabereen is closely connected to AAH for three reasons: 1) Sabereen has often professed devotion to AAH leader Qais al-Khazali, stating that it “has answered the call” from him; 2) it has taken AAH’s side during rhetorical spats between AAH and other militias; 3) most glaringly, Sabereen has called for the release of imprisoned AAH personnel with the statement “we are Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq.”[164]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
July-August 2006: Elements of AAH fought alongside Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon-Israeli War (unknown killed, unknown wounded).[165]
October 10, 2006: AAH used mortars to attack U.S. Forward Operating Base Falcon outside of Baghdad (unknown killed, unknown wounded).[166]
May 6, 2006: AAH shot down a British Lynx helicopter in Basra (5 killed, unknown wounded).[167]
January 20, 2007: AAH militants attacked and captured the Karbala provincial government headquarters, killing five U.S. soldiers in the process. The Khazali brothers and Ali Musa Daqduq, who had helped plan and lead the attack, were captured by U.S. forces shortly after the attack (5 killed, unknown wounded).[168]
May 29, 2007: AAH forces attacked the Iraqi Finance Ministry, capturing a British contractor named Peter Moore and his four bodyguards. AAH released Moore in December 2009 in exchange for the release of Qais al-Khazali by the Iraqi government. However, by the time that Moore was released, AAH had killed his four bodyguards (4 killed, unknown wounded).[169]
February 2010: AAH captured U.S. Department of Defense contractor Issa T. Salomi. Salomi was released in March 2010 in return for the release of four AAH fighters who were held by the Iraqi government (0 killed, 0 wounded).[170]
November 2011: AAH claimed responsibility for a roadside bomb. The only death from the bomb, a U.S. soldier, was the last U.S. soldier to die before the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq later that month (1 killed, unknown wounded).[171]
August 10, 2012: AAH forces captured a Sunni Mosque in the Al-Amin al-Thaniyah district of Baghdad and converted it to a Shiite mosque (unknown killed, unknown wounded).[172]
September 2012: AAH led the operation to recapture the city of Amerli, Iraq from the Islamic State (unknown killed, unknown wounded).[173]
March-April 2014: According to a Human Rights Watch report, AAH killed 109 Sunni men in the villages surrounding Baghdad between March and April 2014 (at least 109 killed, unknown wounded).[174]
October 2017: AAH participated in the offensive on the city of Kirkuk, Iraq. It is suspected that Iran played a significant role in recapturing this territory from the Islamic State (unknown killed, unknown wounded).[175]
November 2017: AAH participated in the offensive on the city Al-Qa’im, located near the Iraq-Syria border. The group was spotted using what appears to be an Iranian T-72 tank (unknown killed, unknown wounded).[176]
November 2017: AAH participated in the offensive to recapture the city of Abu Kamal, located near the Iraq-Syria border. This town was strategically significant and enabled Iran to set up a supply route from Iran to Lebanon that would allow Iran to provide aid to Hezbollah (unknown killed, unknown wounded).[177]
December 31, 2019: AAH organized and participated in mass demonstrations near and attack on the U.S. embassy compound in central Baghdad.[178] AAH leader Qais al-Khazali appeared among demonstrators at the embassy compound that day (0 killed, unknown wounded).[179]
Before it entered the Iraqi political process in 2011, AAH did not have a significant relationship with the broader Iraqi Shiite community. Since then, the group has built widespread support among Iraqi Shia, becoming what observers describe as a “parochial” group – one with substantial social relations and a defined political power base.[184] AAH and its political party, al-Sadiqoon, have established political offices across Iraq, run candidates in parliamentary elections, and formed significant relationships with tribal leaders.[185] AAH has also begun providing social services to the Shiite tribes in southern Iraq. The group established a network of religious schools across the region and sponsored public entertainment events such as soccer games.[186] AAH also offered humanitarian aid following earthquakes in northern Sulaymaniyah province in November 2017, though residents ultimately refused to accept AAH’s aid, citing its reported history of human rights abuses .[187] In November 2018, AAH provided aid to those affected by flash floods in central Iraq.[188]
AAH appears to have a tenuous relationship with members of the Sunni community in Iraq. Amnesty International has accused AAH of mistreating Sunnis in areas that the group liberated from the Islamic State. For example, AAH allegedly raided Sunni homes in Kirkuk without cause.[189] Moreover, from July 2018 to the present, AAH has reportedly intimidated and extorted Sunni tribal groups. Throughout the group’s campaigns against U.S. and Iraqi military installations, AAH targeted Sunni tribes in the areas along the Tigris between the cities of Samarra and Baghdad.[190]
In October 2020, AAH drew criticism for allegedly permitting the massacre of eight civilians in al-Farhatiyah, southern Salah ad-Din province. The governor of Salah ad-Din province criticized the group’s alleged inaction, as the area was reportedly within the jurisdiction of the AAH-affiliated 42nd PMF brigade.[191] The governor argued it was impossible for the perpetrators “who numbered 20 people” to carry out the executions without arousing the awareness of security forces in the area. AAH officials later announced the group intended to comply with an investigation into the incident and punish any of its members found to be responsible; as of June 2021, there have not been any reports of the results of this investigation.[192] In May 2021, the U.S. Department of State released Iraq’s section of the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom. In the section, the State Department reported that the al-Farhatiyah massacre’s victims were Sunni and that the incident appeared to be another episode in a series of retaliatory abuses committed by Shiite sectarian militants against Sunni civilians.[193] The report also concluded that the AAH-affiliated 42nd PMF brigade was itself responsible for executing the massacre – a far more severe allegation than the claim made by the governor of Salah ad-Din province several months earlier.[194] The report also alleged that AAH sought to intimidate Christian civilians into leaving their homes in the Christian-majority Bartella area of Ninewa province and encouraging Shia to move to the area in their stead, and reported the group has converted several Sunni mosques in Diyala province into PMF headquarters.[195]
Since the beginning of mass protests across southern Iraq and Baghdad in October 2019, AAH has come under considerable scrutiny from the Iraqi public. Protesters accuse the PMF and the major constituents therein – AAH included – of participating in the state’s crackdown on demonstrations. As of February 2021, violence carried out by Iraqi security forces and PMF militants has killed over 600 protesters.[196]
AAH is one of the Iranian-backed Special Groups, the U.S. military’s name for the Iranian-sponsored Shiite militias fighting in Iraq. The Iran-aligned militias operating in Iraq are also referred to as muqawama groups, or “resistance factions” in Arabic. Since it was formed, AAH has always had good relations with other Iranian-sponsored Shiite militias, both Iraqi and foreign. AAH often appears alongside several other muqawama groups to mark important holidays and participate in politically-oriented rallies in support of the muqawama’s goals. AAH notably appeared alongside Kata’ib Hezbollah and the Badr Organization in a 2016 demonstration in Baghdad to mark International Quds Day – a holiday created by Iran to express it and its affiliates’ opposition to Israel and support for the Palestinian cause.[197]
In particular, AAH has often cooperated with Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), the largest of the muqawama groups after AAH. In 2013, the two groups co-founded Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, a front group based primarily in Syria. AAH and KH have used this front to channel militants to support the Assad regime and Hezbollah in their fight against the Islamic State and Islamist-aligned elements of the Syrian opposition.[198] For its close relationship to AAH, Hezbollah, and the Iranian government, the U.S. State Department designated Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in March 2019.[199]
AAH has also maintained close relations with Lebanese Hezbollah. Hezbollah operatives were responsible for training many of AAH’s initial recruits. Senior Hezbollah operative Ali Mussa Daqduq has often served as a liaison between the Iranian government and AAH. Members of AAH have fought alongside Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon-Israel War and the Syrian civil war in 2011.[200] During a visit to the Israeli-Lebanon border, Khazali emphasized AAH’s “full readiness to stand united with the Lebanese people and the Palestinian cause in the face of the Israeli occupation.”[201] An AAH spokesperson later clarified that Khazali’s statement was meant to threaten Israeli and express “solidarity with the Lebanese people if the Israeli entity attacks them.”[202]
AAH has had a tense relationship with the Sadrist movement and the Mahdi Army, the Sadrists’ armed affiliate, since splitting from the Mahdi Army in 2006. The Sadrist movement is a loosely-organized political movement of Shiite Islamist, Iraqi nationalists vehemently opposed to foreign intervention in Iraq. The Sadrists are followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric, political leader, and son of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr. Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, as one of Iraq’s preeminent Shiite clerics, became involved in politics by organizing and providing services to poor Shia across Iraq; this organizing formed the basis of the Sadrist movement which remains one of Iraq’s most powerful political movements to this day.[203] Muqtada al-Sadr succeeded his father Mohammed as the leader of the Sadrist movement after the latter’s assassination in 1999.[204] In response to the American invasion of Iraq, Muqtada founded the Mahdi Army in 2003; AAH’s current leader, Qais al-Khazali, was a member of the Mahdi Army and a pupil of Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr before splitting from the group in 2004 and forming AAH two years later.[205] Seeking reconciliation, Sadr called for AAH to rejoin the Mahdi Army after British forces in Iraq arrested the Khazali brothers in 2007; AAH refused.[206]
Though AAH and the Sadrists both maintain close religious ties to the legacies of Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr and Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, the groups differ ideologically. AAH is a Khomeinist group that expresses overt allegiance to figures of the “tradition of the Iranian Revolution” and espouses the ideology of Wilayat al-Faqih (“Guardianship of the Jurist,” in English; the Islamic Republic of Iran’s state ideology).[207] Since its founding, AAH ultimately sought to displace the Sadrists as the preeminent Shiite social and political organization in Iraq while advancing Iran’s influence within Iraq – both of which the Sadrists opposed.[208] To this end, countless violent clashes of varying degrees of severity between the Sadrists and AAH militants took place across Iraq – particularly in and around Baghdad, the Sadrists’ main base of power – between the Khazali faction’s departure from the Mahdi Army in 2004 and the Mahdi Army’s eventual disbandment in 2008.[209]
Relations did not improve between AAH and the Sadrists when AAH entered the Iraqi political process in 2011. Before AAH announced its intention to enter formal politics, the Sadrists were the primary allies of Maliki’s Dawlat al-Qanoon (“State of Law” in English) coalition in Parliament and had had a history of tensions with AAH; to this end, Muqtada al-Sadr stated in 2010 that he would not allow AAH to participate in politics because of the group’s history of “murdering Iraqi civilians.”[210]
AAH’s entry into formal politics – a process which Prime Minister Maliki eagerly facilitated – appeared to tip the balance of power in Parliament away from the Sadrists by creating a new, potentially stronger ally for Maliki/Dawlat al-Qanoon.[211] The two groups’ competition for preeminence among Iraqi Shia continued into the political sphere alongside their military competition. This competition eventually led AAH to launch an assassination campaign against Sadrist political leaders in 2012. Through these assassinations, AAH aimed to weaken the Sadrist’s standing prior to the 2013 regional elections. Although both groups fought alongside one another against the Islamic State, relations improved very little during this period. For instance, in 2014, Sadr wrote off AAH as little more than a Maliki-sponsored militia and accused it of carrying out purges of anti-Maliki Sunni tribesmen in southern Iraq. AAH responded by attacking Sadrists in the Shia-majority neighborhoods surrounding Baghdad.[212] Tensions between the two groups continued throughout Iraq’s mass protests in 2019. Sadr lent rhetorical and physical support to protesters, while AAH has helped security forces repress the demonstrations. Notably, on October 26, 2019, AAH militants clashed at first with protesters and later with members of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam – a revival of the Sadrists’ Mahdi Army that was founded in 2014 – that had sided with protesters in the southeastern city of Amarah.[213]
Recently, the relationship between AAH and the Sadrists has shown signs of improvement. In December 2020, Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he and his Sairoon political alliance intend to campaign in Iraq’s 2021 parliamentary elections with a call to “restore the Shiite home” via the establishment of “moral governance” in Iraq.[214] A spokesman for and leader of AAH’s political wing, al-Sadiqoon, later welcomed Sadr’s statement. The spokesman said that the group considered Sadr’s message “very important” because it promoted an “inclusive national interest” that transcended Iraq’s sectarian divisions in the name of good governance.[215] The spokesman added that “the strength and unity of the [Shiite bloc] reflects positively on the strength and unity of Iraq,” hinting that AAH may pursue closer relations with the Sadrists ahead of Iraq’s 2021 parliamentary elections.[216] However, this possible rapprochement did not pan out, as the Fatah coalition, of which AAH’s al-Sadiqoon is a member, sought to form a post-hoc coalition with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, another major Kurdish party.[217]
Following the Islamic State (IS) offensive into northern Iraq in 2014, AAH served as part of the Iraqi government’s fight against the group. As one of the most powerful pro-government militias in Iraq, AAH was deployed to some of the most highly-contested areas in Iraq in the battle against IS. For instance, the group led the Shiite militias in the battle for Amerli in 2013-2014 and Samarra in 2015-2016.[218] In retaliation, IS carried out a suicide attack at a soccer match sponsored by AAH in a town south of Baghdad in March 2016.[219]
Although AAH operates independently from Iraq’s formal security apparatus, the group conducted its role in anti-IS operations in Iraq under the structure of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, Hashd as-Shaabi in Arabic). Founded in 2014, the PMF is a state-sponsored umbrella group composed of approximately forty Iraqi militias, the largest number and most powerful of which are Shia.[220] Lacking a strong regular security force, the Iraqi government relied on its partnership with these volunteer PMF militias, some of which had existed for decades, to liberate IS-held areas.[221] The Iraqi government organized the PMF in response to Ayatollah Sistani’s 2014 non-sectarian fatwa that called for Iraqis to form “popular” militias to resist IS’ offensive into Iraq.[222] Constituent groups within the PMF remain partially integrated into the Iraqi armed forces but retain varying degrees of independent command. Some groups, including AAH, also maintain strong relationships with Iran and the IRGC.[223] The largest groups in the PMF, in decreasing order of size, are Kata’ib Hezbollah (30,000),[224] the Badr Organization (10,000-15,000),[225] and AAH (15,000).[226]
The PMF is an important source of influence and recruitment for AAH, and it has helped AAH make significant inroads among the Iraqi Shia.[227] Due to their instrumental role in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), many Iraqis view the militias as vital to the state’s security apparatus.[228] Public opinion polls conducted in the aftermath of IS’s defeat in November 2017 suggest the Iraqi public strongly views militias within the PMF structure as positive contributors to local security – with 91% of Shia respondents and 64.5% of Sunni respondents indicating a positive view of the PMF.[229] Constituent units of the PMF also receive financial and military support from both Iraq and Iran.[230] As part of the PMF, AAH played an instrumental role in the campaign against IS in Iraq. AAH and other PMF militias have also come under significant criticism on human rights grounds for alleged attacks against Sunni civilians and being a source of Iranian influence in Iraq.[231]
There have reportedly been tensions between AAH and the Jaysh al-Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandia (JRTN), a Sufi militant group led by former Ba’ath Party leaders operating in Iraq. AAH claimed that its militants assassinated Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam Hussein’s former second in command and the leader of the JRTN, on April 17, 2015. AAH’s hostility towards JRTN stems from the latter’s alignment with jihadist groups, including the Islamic State (IS), against the Iraqi government and Coalition forces. JRTN participated in IS’s initial offensive into Iraq in June 2014 and reportedly received weapons, equipment, and funding from IS as part of a rapprochement agreement struck in September 2014.[232] AAH’s initial claims later proved false when, in October 2020, a spokesman for the Ba’ath party reported Douri had died earlier that month.[233]
AAH has maintained close ties with Iran since the group was founded in 2006. AAH is often referred to as one of Iran’s proxy organizations in Iraq and receives significant financial aid and training resources from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force (IRGC-QF). Iran also influences the group’s goals and activities. Although AAH leader Qais al-Khazali controls the group’s day-to-day operations, commanders of the IRGC-QF have wielded significant influence over AAH’s military and political activities in the past.[234]
After IRGC-QF commander Qasem Soleimani’s death in January 2020, Iranian-aligned elements of the PMF – AAH included – appeared to shift their military strategies to decrease their operational and strategic reliance upon the IRGC. Observers attribute this development to the apparent inability of the new IRGC-QF commander, Esmail Ghaani, to exert the same degree of personal authority over its Iraqi proxies as his predecessor.[235] Should Tehran’s authority over the militias loosen, observers believe that the militias will operate with a greater degree of autonomy that could jeopardize their future relationship with Iran.[236]
Comments made by AAH leader Qais al-Khazali in the months following Soleimani’s death suggest that AAH has embraced this shift in strategy. In November 2020, Ghaani made a highly publicized visit to Baghdad. He called for peace and requested that Iran’s Iraqi proxies refrain from attacking U.S. military and diplomatic installations in Iraq.[237] The following week, Khazali pushed back against Ghaani’s request. Khazali stated that, in his and AAH’s view, “the truce with the Americans has ended [as] its conditions [are] not being met.”[238] Khazali’s response also asserted, “the Americans occupy our country [Iraq], not yours [Iran],” stating that although “there is a convergence of interests between the muqawama [“resistance factions;” a nickname used to distinguish Iran-aligned militias] and Tehran,” this convergence does not “change the fact that the Iraqi resistance has 100% patriotic motives.”[239] In December 2020, Khazali continued his public disagreement with the IRGC. He released a statement in which he made clear his and AAH’s support for the smaller, allegedly distinct “shadow groups” operating in Iraq that have continued to target U.S. assets against Ghaani’s wishes.[240]
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