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On March 26, 2023, Iran-backed militia Liwa' Al-Ghaliboun (The Brigade of the Triumphant) released a 37-second video documenting the launch of the March 23 drone attack that targeted a military base housing U.S. force in the northeast of Al-Hasakah, Syria.[1]
Posted on the militia's its newly-created Telegram channel,[2] the footage showed three fighters preparing the drone for launch. The surrounding area was digitally blurred.
Earlier, on March 25, the group posted a statement signed by "Haj Abu Ali, the deputy jihadi of Liwa' Al-Ghaliboun" in which he claimed responsibility for the attack.
The statement said the attack was carried out to avenge the deaths of Iraqi Deputy Commander of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and Iran's IRGC Qods Force General Qassem Soleimani, who were killed in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020.
Emblem
The group's emblem features an extended arm and rifle, similar to emblems used by the Lebanese Hizbullah, Iraq's Hizbullah Brigades, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
On top of the emblem, a Quranic verse reads: "And indeed, our soldiers will surely be the triumphant [ones]." The bottom of the emblem features the text: "The Islamic Resistance."
Background
Syrian opposition media outlet Sot Al-Asimah reported that the Iran-backed group was established in Syria between 2015-2016 and comprises over 1,000 fighters.[3]
A 2016 report published by Saudi media outlet, Al-Aqtesadia noted that the group's fighters are Syrian Shi'ites.[4]
The Turkish national outlet TRT claimed in a 2021 report that the group's main stronghold is in Latakia, Syria.[5]
A YouTube video posted on April 13, 2019 bears the group's logo and shows fighters during training.[6]
[1] Telegram, March 26, 2023..
[2] The Telegram channel was created on March 24, 2023.
[3] Damascusv.com, last accessed on March 27, 2023.
[4] ] Aleqt.com, last accessed on March 27, 2023.
[5] Trtarabi.com, November 2, 2021.
[6] YouTube, last accessed March 27, 2023.
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