Dispute Among Iraqi Shi’ite Militias Over Their Role In Escalation Of Attacks Against U.S. Forces In Iraq And Syria

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On November 25, 2023, Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi, secretary-general of the Hizbullah Brigades, posted a statement in which he exposed the identities of the Iran-backed Iraqi Shi’ite militias that are members of “the Islamic Resistance in Iraq” – the name that was used in the claims of responsibility for dozens of recent attacks against American military bases in Iraq and in Syria. He revealed that in addition to his organization, other members of this entity comprise Ansar Allah Al-Awfiya, the Al-Nujaba Movement, and the Sayyid Al-Shuhada Brigades.[1]

It is well-known that after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli communities and military bases, dozens of attacks were carried out on U.S. Army bases in Iraq and in Syria, responsibility for which was claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.[2] Before these attacks took place, there had been a significant reduction in such attacks for about a year. The decrease in attacks occurred after the political parties associated with several of the Iran-backed Iraqi militias, first and foremost Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq, joined the Iraqi government. Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq leader Qais Al-Khazali even justified the temporary ceasefire and contended that it contributed to an improvement in the economic and security situations in Iraq.[3]

Al-Hamidawi’s statement sparked the anger of the Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq militia, whose name was not included in the list. Jawad Al-Talibawi, the militia’s military spokesman, expressed sorrow at the statement and maintained that it violated the principles according to which the resistance operates, starting with secrecy. He said that Al-Hamidawi, “with no justification and in an irresponsible manner,” had ignored other factions that are also active against the Americans. In response, Hizbullah Brigades spokesman Jaafar Al-Husseini posted a message on social media saying that every attack that was carried out was accompanied by a claim of responsibility, i.e. Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq has not recently attacked any American targets.

The following are translations of the statements posted by Al-Talibawi and Al-Husseini:

Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq: Hamidawi’s Statement Unjustly Ignores Other Militias

About a day after the appearance of the statement posted by the secretary-general of the Hizbullah Brigades, Jawad Al-Talibawi, the military spokesman for the Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq militia, posted a harsh message on both his X (formerly Twitter) and his Telegram accounts in which he criticized Al-Hamidawi’s statement. He wrote that contrary to the impression given by that statement, his organization had taken part in “the jihadi operations” against the American forces.

He went so far as to attack Al-Hamidawi and claimed that he was endangering the militias. He wrote: “The resistance is a religious and national obligation. This tremendous obligation is fulfilled by men who are loyal to Allah and to the homeland and sacrificed their lives and their blood to defend the land and what is sacred. The resistance has its abiding principles and no body is authorized to deviate from them.

“The statement published in the media in the name of the brothers in jihad in the Hizbullah Brigades is very distressing because it includes a violation of an important principle regarding the activity of the resistance which calls for secrecy and strict [enforcing of] security. We know well that one must not expose the movements and the factions that are carrying out their heroic jihad operations against the bases of the American occupation in Iraq to compel it to leave and withdraw from our country.

“It is very strange that despite the fact that the person who wrote the statement is familiar with the situation on the ground, he mentioned the names of [some] factions and ignored others with no justification and in an irresponsible manner. Our resistance is one, our goal is one.

“We hope that these kinds of statements from our brothers in jihad will not recur, so that we don’t provide the enemy with an opportunity, and that future statements will be integrated. May Allah grant his mercy and satisfaction with the martyrs from the Hizbullah Brigades and grant victory to those who continue their path…”[4]

Hizbullah Brigades: No Other Operations Were Carried Out Against American Forces

Several hours after Al-Talibawi’s statement was posted, Jaafar Al-Husseini, the spokesman for the Hizbullah Brigades, shared a message on his X account in which he apparently rejected the claims made by the former. Without referring to Al-Talibawi or to his organization by their names, Al-Husseini asserted that “the Islamic Resistance in Iraq” had claimed responsibility for operations that the U.S. itself had acknowledged, i.e. that there had not been any other operations. He urged other factions to join his faction, saying that “the campaign is still underway.”

Al-Husseini wrote: “Our information corroborates what the enemy has admitted regarding the scope, the number of operations, and their impact. We have no unclaimed operation and we did not claim responsibility for any operation that the enemy did not admit took place… These operations that were carried out by the factions were made public. What would have happened if the other jihadi factions had joined the campaign? How many operations would we be talking about [if that had happened]? It would certainly be a greater number, especially since the campaign is still underway.”[5]