A Human Rights Watch report says that the militias looted, burned thousands of buildings, and abducted at least 11 people during the Amerli offensive last summer. “The widespread burning of civilian homes by the militia groups in areas under their control appeared to have had no clear military objective and to represent collective punishment against residents of local Sunni villages,” HRW stated.
Iran's Qasem Soleimani is guiding Iraqi forces in fight against Islamic State
Shiite militias closely linked to Iran and Qods Force commander Qassem Suleimani have taken control of key towns surrounding the central Iraqi city.
Pro-Iran militias’ success in Iraq could undermine US
Iran’s militias are taking over Iraq’s army
Hezbollah fired five anti-tank missiles at an IDF unit patrolling near Mt Dov.
Political and Military elites of the Islamic Republic weigh-in on the death of Brigadier General Mohammad-Ali Allah-Dadi, the IRGC-QF member killed in Syria by an Israeli helicopter attack.Their commentary indicates a desire to establish deterrence, at least rhetorically, and tout their globalist message pertaining to the Islamic Revolution.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps confirmed that Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Allah-Dadi was killed in an airstrike in Syria. He was assigned to help Hezbollah and Syria battle jihadist groups.
Brigadier General Hamid Taqavi served as an “adviser to the [Iraqi] Army and the popular mobilization of the Iraqi people,” a reference to the Shiite militias.
The leader of the Mukhtar Army, who was also the secretary-general of Hezbollah in Iraq, was killed in Diyala province. Supporters of the Islamic State claimed the group is responsible for his death.
The League of the Righteous, a Shiite militia that is responsible for killing hundreds of US soldiers in Iraq between 2006-2011, helped Iraqi forces take control of Baiji. The US provided air support.
The League of the Righteous, which is responsible for killing hundreds of US soldiers, was part of the Iraqi force that liberated Amerli. The group is closely tied to Iran’s Qods Force and three of its leaders are Specially Designated Global terrorists.
Herat’s chief of police accused Iran of supporting the Taliban’s killing spree in the province, which included the murder of two Finnish aid workers.
As the war in Gaza continues, Iran’s political, military, and religious calculations ascribe similar but not identical values to the ongoing conflict. The ways in which Iranian leaders codify events on the ground vary depending on their interests at home and abroad.
Hezbollah, which helped establish Shia terror groups in Iraq beginning in 2005, said that Ibrahim al Hajj, a trainer, was killed while “performing his jihadi duties” in Tal Afar.
Recent statements by Iranian political and religious leaders suggest that Iran’s keen interest in the current Iraqi crisis could lead it to intervene in some fashion.
Sentiments expressed recently on an online forum about the allegiances of Hezbollah run deeper than Lebanon, offering insight into Iranian strategic thinking about the Levant and the Middle East.
Three Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force officers and one facilitator who are involved in the “use of terrorism and intelligence operations as tools of influence against the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan” were added to the US’ list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
Three major clashes between the Taliban and Afghan security forces have been reported on the Herat-Kandahar highway over the past two weeks.
Musa Ali Daqduq, who was tasked with establishing a Hezbollah-like Shia terror group in Iraq, and who was involved in the 2007 attack on US troops in Karbala, has been freed from Iraqi custody and is now in Lebanon.
The attack took place in Zaranj, the provincial capital of Nimroz. The Taliban have launched several high-profile attacks in western Afghanistan this year.
General Gholamreza Baghbani, the senior Qods Force officer in Zahedan, facilitates heroin and opium smuggling to arm the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to the US Treasury.
Aslanov Zaur, an Azeri national and al Qaeda commander, was killed during Pakistani airstrikes in Kurram last week. He likely entered Pakistan with the aid of al Qaeda’s support network in Iran.
Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani has directed attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as aided al Qaeda.
The latest designation by Treasury highlights Iran and Qods Force’s role in terrorist operations.
The US Treasury Department designated five Iranians who were allegedly involved in a plot to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US. One of the five planned a deadly assault on American soldiers in Karbala, Iraq in 2007.
The US Department of Justice has charged two Iranians, including a Qods Force officer, with plotting to kill the Saudi ambassador inside the US. One man is in custody.