Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba

12th Brigade
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
Arabic: حركة حزب الله النجباء
LeadersAkram al-Kaabi[1]
SpokespersonNasr al-Shammari[2]
Dates of operation2013–present
Allegiance Iran (IRGC)[3]
 Iraq (2014–present)[4]
Group(s)See section
Active regionsIraq
Gaza Strip (charity work)[5]
Syrian Civil War
Aleppo
East Ghouta, Damascus[6]
Latakia[7]
Al-Ghab Plain, Hama[8]
IdeologyShia Islamism
Vilayat-e Faqih[9]
Khomeinism[10]
Anti-West[11]
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Americanism
Size8,000-10,000 (2017)
Part of Popular Mobilization Forces[9][12]
Islamic Resistance in Iraq
4th Armoured Division (in Syria)[13]
AlliesState allies

Non-state allies

OpponentsState opponents
Non-state opponents
Battles and warsIraqi insurgency (2003–11) (as Asaib Ahl al-Haq)

War in Iraq (2014–2017)

Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria
Designated as a terrorist group by United States[31]
WebsiteOfficial website
Preceded by
Asaib Ahl al-Haq

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (The Nujaba Movement or HHN; Arabic: حركة حزب الله النجباء, romanized: Ḥaraka Ḥizballāh an-Nujabā’, lit. 'Movement of the Party of God's Nobles'), officially the 12th Brigade, is a radical Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary group that is especially active in Syria and Iraq. It was established in 2013 by Akram al-Kaabi to support Bashar al-Assad in Syria against Islamist rebels. The group is supported by the IRGC's Quds Force, which provides the funding, weapons, and training of its members.[32]

The militia is also supported by the Lebanese Hezbollah and acts as part of the Axis of Resistance. It is a part of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a group of Shi’ite militias that are close to Iran, until 2020 when it joined the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.[33] The Nujaba Movement adopts the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and regards Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as its supreme leader.[32] A January 2024 report in The Hill indicates that it is still part of the PMF.[34] The group seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel U.S. and allied forces from the country, and advance Iranian interests throughout the Middle East.

HHN militia fighters in Iraq are deployed mainly in southern Iraq and in the provinces of Baghdad, Salah ad Din, Diyala, and Nineveh. The militia fighters in Syria are deployed mainly in the provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, where they have established positions, headquarters, training camps, and recruitment offices to recruit Syrian residents.[35]

HHN has a TV channel named Al-Nujaba TV, which is based in Baghdad, Iraq.[36]

In March 2019, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (and all its aliases and component parts) and its leader Akram al-Kaabi Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).[37][38] The sanctions prohibits business with the militia and its leader and freezes all property in their possession.[39]

  1. ^ Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (28 April 2015). "Interview with the leader of Harakat al-Nujaba: Translation and Analysis". Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Spokesman For Iran-Backed Iraqi Shi'ite Militia In Syria: 'We Have Established The Golan Liberation Army'". MEMRI. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Harakat Hezbollah alNujaba (The Movement of the Noble of Hezbollah)" (PDF). fdd.org. November 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. ^ "خلاطي: حركة النجباء جزء من مؤسسة الحشد الشعبي الرسمية". حركة النجباء. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  5. ^ "The Nujaba Movement, an Iraqi Shiite militia handled by Iran, also operates in the Gaza Strip". 25 May 2020. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  6. ^ قناة النجباء الفضائية (10 October 2015). "عمليات حركة النجباء في سوريا - الغوطة الشرقية". Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2016 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Stahlgewitter Syrien 2 (11 November 2015). "Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba: Operation in Latakia (2015)". Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ قناة النجباء الفضائية (1 September 2015). "المقاومة الاسلامية حركة النجباء معارك تحرير سهل الغاب / سوريا". Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2016 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference monitor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Assad Rex? Assessing the autonomy of Syrian armed groups fighting for the regime" (PDF). Clingendael. September 2017. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
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  12. ^ "Iraqi Shiite militia leader says he would overthrow government if ordered by Iran's supreme leader - The Long War Journal". 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  13. ^ a b Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (5 September 2018). "Harakat al-Nujaba': Interview". Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi. Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  14. ^ "الحشد الشعبي: التشكيل.. التدريب .. النشوء ومراحل تصنيع السلاح". oneiraqnews.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  15. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.washingtoninstitute.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  18. ^ "مليشيا "الحشد الشعبي" تقدم دليلا جديدا لدعمها الحوثيين". بوابة العين الإخبارية. 26 April 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  19. ^ "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War.
  20. ^ a b "Why Iran is shielding the PKK in Iraq". Why Iran is shielding the PKK in Iraq. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  21. ^ "الجيش السوري الحر يدمر أكبر مواقع حركة النجباء العراقية بالبادية السورية". نداء سوريا. 18 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  22. ^ "لواء صقور الجبل يستهدف غرفة عمليات حركة النجباء ويدمرها بالكامل بريف حلب الجنوبي". www.shaam.org. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  23. ^ "اخر عمليات ابطال النجباء في سوريا". حركة النجباء. Retrieved 3 August 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  24. ^ "::. صفحه مورد نظر یافت نشد ..::". www.alalamtv.net. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  25. ^ "أجناد الشام" يعلن أسر عناصر من حزب الله والنجباء بحلب". arabi21.com. 28 October 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  26. ^ "هجوم مباغت لهيئة تحرير الشام في ريف حلب يسفر عن مقتل 10 عناصر من ميليشيا النجباء العراقية". 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Kurdish and Iraqi forces, militias clash in northern Iraq - FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  28. ^ "مقتل 17 من "النجباء" العراقية وإصابة 34 في حلب… ومقاتلو المعارضة يقصفون مدرسة في درعا واشتباكات مستمرة بين "جند الأقصى" و"أحرار الشام" رغم اتفاق وقف القتال". alquds.co.uk (in Arabic). 11 October 2016. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  29. ^ Bill Roggio (28 March 2015). "US continues airstrikes in Tikrit despite involvement of Iranian-backed Shiite militias". The Long War Journal. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  30. ^ "Iraqi Shiite Foreign Fighters on the Rise Again in Syria". www.washingtoninstitute.org. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  31. ^ "'الفتح' يستنكر ادراج العصائب والنجباء في لائحة الارهاب الاميركية". ارنا. 2 June 2018. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  32. ^ a b "The Movement of the Noble Ones (Harakat al-Nujaba)". Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  33. ^ Dana Taib Menmy; Oliver Mizzi (8 November 2023). "Who is the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, the mysterious group attacking US and Israeli targets over Gaza?". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  34. ^ Brad Dress (5 January 2024). "Iraq moving to remove US-led military coalition, prime minister says". The Hill. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  35. ^ "The Nujaba Movement – the Movement of the Noble Ones: One of the dominant pro-Iranian militias in Iraq". The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 14 May 2023. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  36. ^ Dehghanpisheh, Babak. "The Iraqi militia helping Iran carve a road to Damascus". Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  37. ^ "State Department Terrorist Designation of Harakat al-Nujaba (HAN) and Akram 'Abbas al-Kabi". U.S. Department of State. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  38. ^ "US sanctions Iranian militia in Iraq: here's what you need to know about Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba". The National. 6 March 2019. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  39. ^ "Designation of Harakat al-Nujaba, aka Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, aka Movement of the Noble Ones Hezbollah, aka The Movement of the Noble Ones, aka Golan Liberation Brigade, aka Ammar ibn Yasir Brigade, aka Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba Brigade, aka al-Hamad Brigade, aka al-Nujaba TV as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist". Federal Register. 15 March 2019. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2020.