Liwa Zainebiyoun

Liwa Zainebiyoun
لواء زينبیون
Also known asHezbollah Pakistan[1][2]
CommanderSaqib Haider Karbalai  †[3]
Dates of operation2012,[4] but officially in late 2014 – present[5]
Allegiance
Active regions
Ideology
Sloganإِن يَنصُرْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ [Quran 3:160]
"If Allah helps you, none can defeat you."[1][18][19]
StatusActive (banned in Pakistan)[20]
Size~Several hundreds (est. 2014)[16]
c. 800+ (est. 2019)[16]
Part ofAxis of Resistance[19][21]
AlliesState allies

Non-State allies

OpponentsState opponents

Non-State opponents

Battles and wars
Designated as a terrorist group by{{unbulletedlist
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The Followers of Zainab Brigade (Arabic: لِوَاء الزَّيْنَبِيُون, romanized: Liwā’ az-Zaynabīyūn, Persian: لواء زينبیون or لشکر زينبیون, Liwa Zeinabiyoun or Lashkare Zeinabiyoun, Urdu: لواء زینبیون), also known as the Zainebiyoun Brigade or Zainebiyoun Division, is a Pakistani Shia Khomeinist militant group actively engaged in the Syrian Civil War.[35][6] It draws recruits mainly from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran,[6][36] with some also Shia Muslim communities living in various regions of Pakistan.[5][37]

It was formed and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and operates under their command.[6] Initially tasked with defending the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque,[7][8] it has since entered frontlines across Syria.[5] Its dead are buried primarily in Iran.[6][8] Approximately 158 of their fighters have died in Syria as of March 2019, excluding those killed in Israeli airstrikes.[15] According to 2019 estimates, the total number of Pakistani fighters in the brigade barely exceeded 800.[16]

  1. ^ a b Ari Heistein; James West (20 November 2015). "Syria's Other Foreign Fighters: Iran's Afghan and Pakistani Mercenaries". National Interest. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  2. ^ "DOSSIERS OF POLITICAL PARTIES INTENT ON EXPORTING AN ISLAMIC REVOLUTION". Wilson Center. 1999. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  3. ^ "التعرف على جثة امر لواء زينبيون الايراني الذي قتل في سوريا بنيران داعش الارهابي قبل عامين" [Identification of the body of the order of the Iranian Zainabiyoun Brigade, who was killed in Syria by ISIS terrorist fire two years ago]. IraqNewspaper.net (in Arabic). 12 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Iran recruits Pakistani Shias for combat in Syria". The Express Tribune. 11 December 2015. Cite error: The named reference "recruits" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference iraqeye was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d e "Meet the Zainebiyoun Brigade: An Iranian Backed Pakistani Shia Militia Fighting in Syria". Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Farhan Zahid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c "Funeral Service for Seven Pakistani Militants Killed in Syria; Qom, Iran, Apr 2015". Konflictcam. 20 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Increasing Number Of Afghans, Pakistanis Killed In Syria Buried In Iran". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 25 April 2015.
  10. ^ "The Zainabiyoun Brigade". پایگاه خبری تحلیلی فردا | Farda News. Farda News. 3 March 2016.
  11. ^ جهان|TABNAK, سایت خبری تحلیلی تابناك|اخبار ایران و. "پیکر ۵ شهید مدافع حرم در قم تشییع شد".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Alex Vatanka, Influence of iranian revolution in Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy Islamist Influence, I.B.Tauris (1989), pp. 148 & 155
  13. ^ Julius, Anthony (1 May 2015). Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-929705-4 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ Michael, Robert; Rosen, Philip (1 May 2015). Dictionary of Antisemitism from the Earliest Times to the Present. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810858688 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ a b "Foreign Shiite combat fatalities in Syria and nationality since January 19, 2012." Ali Alfoneh. Twitter. 4 March 2019.
  16. ^ a b c d e f Wigger, Leo (26 September 2019). ""Why Pakistan holds a key in the Iranian-Saudi confrontation"". magazine.zenith.me. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d Christoph Reuter. American Fury: The Truth About the Russian Deaths in Syria: Hundreds of Russian soldiers are alleged to have died in U.S. airstrikes at the beginning of February. Reporting by DER SPIEGEL shows that events were likely very different. Der Spiegel, 2 March 2018.
  18. ^ Robillard, Michael (2021). "Syria". In Paul Burke; Doaa' Elnakhala; Seumas Miller (eds.). Global Jihadist Terrorism: Terrorist Groups, Zones of Armed Conflict and National Counter-Terrorism Strategies. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 167–187. ISBN 978-1-80037-129-3.
  19. ^ a b Drums Of War: Israel And The "AXIS OF RESISTANCE" (PDF), International Crisis Group, 2 August 2010, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016
  20. ^ "Pakistan bans Iran-backed Shiite group fighting in Syria". 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  21. ^ a b "After ISIS, Fatemiyoun Vows to Fight with "Axis of Resistance" to Destroy Israel". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  22. ^ Will Fulton, Joseph Holliday, and Sam Wyer, Iranian Strategy in Syria Archived 2016-02-01 at the Wayback Machine, Institute for the Study of War, May 2013
  23. ^ Kajjo, Sirwan (25 August 2016). "Who are the Turkey backed Syrian Rebels?". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  24. ^ Mehdi Hussain (13 December 2015). "At least 23 killed, 30 injured in Parachinar blast". The Express Tribune.
  25. ^ Ali, Imtiaz (17 May 2024). "Men held for street crime part of sectarian killing network: Karachi CTD". DAWN.COM.
  26. ^ Golovnina, Maria (14 July 2013). "Pakistan Taliban set up camps in Syria, join anti-Assad war". Reuters. Archived from the original on 14 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  27. ^ Wali, Ahmed (12 July 2013). "BBC News – Pakistan Taliban 'sets up a base in Syria'". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  28. ^ "Pakistan Taliban set up camps in Syria, join anti-Assad war". Al Arabiya. 14 July 2013. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  29. ^ Says, Motorhead (28 October 2016). "IRGC commander killed on eve of Aleppo battle | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org.
  30. ^ "Array of pro-Syrian government forces advances in Aleppo | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 9 December 2016.
  31. ^ Truzman, Joe (14 February 2020). "IRGC trained militias suffer losses in northwest Syria". Long War Journal. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  32. ^ "Limited Iranian-backed Pakistani fighters in Iraq to fight against ISIL in Iraq. But this is not a sign that Tehran lacks an interest in Iraqi affairs". November 2018.
  33. ^ Misto, Mohamad; Emre Özcan, Ethem. "Iran boosting Yemeni Houthis with Syrian fighters: Local sources". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  34. ^ "Kashmir – The New Battlefield For Saudi-Iran Proxy War – Israel Media Reports". 22 July 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  35. ^ "Liwa Zainebiyoun".
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference WOTR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ "Pakistan reluctant to take back fighters captured in Syria". Hindustan Times. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2022.