Qais Khazali | |
|---|---|
قيس الخزعلي | |
.jpg) Qais al-Khazali | |
| Secretary-General of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq | |
| Assumed office July 2006 | |
| Head of Parliamentary Bloc | |
| Assumed office 2014 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 June 1974 Sadr City, Ba'athist Iraq |
| Political party | Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq |
| Other political affiliations | Fatah Alliance Sadrist Movement (until 2006) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Iraq |
| Branch/service | Popular Mobilization Forces (until 2020) Islamic Resistance in Iraq (since 2020) |
| Years of service | 2003–present |
| Rank | Commander |
| Unit |  Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq  Mahdi Army (2003–2006) |
| Battles/wars | Iraq War Syrian Civil War War in Iraq (2013–2017) |
Qais Hadi Sayed Hasan al-Khazali (Arabic: قيس هادي سيد حسن الخزعلي; born 20 June 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militant leader who is the founder and Secretary-General of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, an Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary organization and political party. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Iran-backed Special Groups in Iraq from June 2006 until his capture by British forces in March 2007.[1] As head of the Special Groups, Khazali directed arms shipment, formation of squads to participate in fighting, and insurgent operations, most notably the 20 January 2007 attack on American forces in Karbala.[2] A former follower of Muqtada al-Sadr, he was expelled from the Mahdi Army in 2004 for giving "unauthorized orders" and founded his own group: Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) also known as the "Khazali Network" that was later designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Department of State. During his incarceration, Akram al-Kaabi became acting commander of the organization until his release in January 2010.[3]
- ^ Kagan, pp 167, 177.
- ^ Kagan, pp 168-177
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)