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Badr Organization

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(Redirected from Badr Brigades)
Not to be confused with Badr Brigade in the Jordanian Army.
Badr Organization
منظمة بدر
LeaderHadi al-Amiri
Founded1982–2003 (1982–2003) as the military wing of the ISCI
2003–present as a political movement
IdeologyShia Islamism[1]
Khomeinism[2]
Anti-Sunnism[3]
Conservatism
Political positionRight-wing[4]
ReligionShia Islam
National affiliationNational Iraqi Alliance[5] (2005–2014)
State of Law Coalition (2014–18)[6][7][8]
Fatah Alliance (2018–present)
International affiliationAxis of Resistance
Seats in the Council of Representatives of Iraq:
17 / 329
Badr Organization
LeadersHadi Al-Amiri
Dates of operation1982–2003 (officially)
2014–present
Allegiance Iran (IRGC) (alleged)[2]
Group(s)Structure
HeadquartersNajaf, Iraq
Active regionsBaghdad and Southern Iraq
Size15,000 (2008)[9]
10,000–15,000 (2014)[10]
Part of Popular Mobilization Forces (2014–present)
AlliesState allies:
Non-state allies:
OpponentsState opponents:
Non-state opponents:
Battles and wars
Designated as a terrorist group by United Arab Emirates[27]

The Badr Organization (Arabic: منظمة بدر Munaẓẓama Badr), previously known as the Badr Brigades or Badr Corps, is an Iraqi Shia Islamist and Khomeinist[2] political party and paramilitary organization headed by Hadi al-Amiri. The Badr Brigade, formed in 1982 and led by Iranian officers, served as the military arm of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a Shia Islamic party based in Iran. The Badr Brigade was created by Iranian intelligence and Shia cleric Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim with the aim of fighting the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq War. Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, most of the Badr Brigade fighters have entered the new Iraqi army and police force. Since 2003, the Badr Brigade and SCIRI were considered to be one party, but have recently unofficially separated[28] with the Badr Organization now being an official Iraqi political party. Badr Brigade forces, and their Iranian commanders, have come to prominence in 2014 fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq.[29] It is a part of the Popular Mobilization Forces.

History

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SCIRI

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The organization was formed in Iran in 1982 as the military wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. It was based in Iran for two decades during the rule of Saddam Hussein and led by Iranian officers. It consisted of several thousand Iraqi exiles, refugees, and Iraqi Army defectors who fought alongside Iranian troops in the Iran–Iraq War. The group was armed and directed by Iran.

They briefly returned to Iraq in 1991 during the 1991 Iraqi uprising to fight against Saddam Hussein, focusing on the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.[30] They retreated into Iran after the uprising was crushed.

In 1995, during the Kurdish Civil War, Iran deployed 5,000 Badr fighters to Iraqi Kurdistan.[31]

Post-invasion Iraq

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Returning to Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion, the group changed its name from brigade to organization in response to the attempted voluntary disarming of Iraqi militias by the Coalition Provisional Authority. It is however widely believed the organization is still active as a militia within the security forces and it has been accused of running a secret prison[32] and sectarian killings during the Iraqi Civil War.[33]

Because of their opposition to Saddam Hussein, the Badr Brigade was seen as a U.S. asset in the fight against Baathist partisans. After the fall of Baghdad, Badr forces reportedly joined the newly reconstituted army, police, and the Interior Ministry in significant numbers. The Interior Ministry was controlled by SCIRI, and many Badr members became part of the Interior Ministry-run Wolf Brigade. The Iraqi Interior Minister, Bayan Jabr, was a former leader of Badr Brigade militia.

In 2006 the United Nations human rights chief in Iraq, John Pace, said that hundreds of Iraqis were being tortured to death or executed by the Interior Ministry under SCIRI's control.[33] According to a 2006 report by the Independent newspaper:

"Mr Pace said the Ministry of the Interior was 'acting as a rogue element within the government'. It was controlled by the main Shia party, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri); the Interior Minister, Baqir Jabr al-Zubeidi, is a former leader of SCIRI's Badr Brigade militia, which was one of the main groups accused of carrying out sectarian killings. Another was the Mahdi Army of the young cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is now part of the Shia coalition seeking to form a government after winning the mid-December election.

Many of the 110,000 policemen and police commandos under the ministry's control are suspected of being former members of the Badr Brigade. Not only counterinsurgency units such as the Wolf Brigade, the Scorpions, and the Tigers, but the commandos and even the highway patrol police were accused of acting as death squads during this period over a decade ago.

The paramilitary commandos, dressed in garish camouflage uniforms and driving around in pick-up trucks, were dreaded in Sunni neighbourhoods. People arrested by them during this period were frequently found dead several days later with their bodies bearing obvious marks of torture."[33]

Military action against ISIL

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Main article: War in Iraq (2013–2017)

Following ISIL's successful Anbar campaign and June 2014 offensive, the Badr Organization mobilized and won a series of battles against ISIL, including the Liberation of Jurf Al Sakhr and the Lifting of the Siege of Amirli.[10] In early February 2015, the group, operating from its base at Camp Ashraf, fought in Diyala Governorate against ISIL. Over 100 militia were killed in the fighting, including 25 in Al Mansouryah. Badr's leader, Hadi al-Amiri, said his militiamen were committed to the safety of Sunnis, but deep mutual suspicions remained in the light of recent sectarian killings and the suspicion that some Sunni tribes were allied with IS.[34] A leaked US diplomatic cable cited sources alleging that Hadi al-Amiri personally ordered attacks on Sunnis.[3]

Structure

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The tombs of the martyred members of the Badr Organization in Golzar Shahada of Qom
The graves of the members of the Badr Organization in the Golzar Shahada of Qom

The Badr Corps consists of infantry, armor, artillery, anti-aircraft, and commando units with an estimated strength of between 10,000 and 50,000 men (according to the Badr Organization).

Scientific evaluation

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The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) recognized a rise in the Shiite Badr organization since 2014 under the leadership of its Secretary General Hadi al-Amiri. In 2017, SWP wrote that the Badr organization is one of "the most important actors in Iraqi politics". It has become the most important instrument of Iranian politics in Iraq. Its aim is "to exert the greatest possible influence on the central government in Baghdad and at the same time to build the strongest possible Shiite militias that are dependent on Iran". The foundation compared the role of the organization with that of Hezbollah in Lebanon.[38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dominic Evans (30 November 2014). "Iraq's divisions will delay counter-offensive on Islamic State". Reuters. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Steinberg, Guido (July 2017). "The Badr Organization" (PDF). German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
  3. ^ a b Dagres, Holly (2018-08-16). "Badr Brigade: Among Most Consequential Outcomes of the Iran-Iraq War". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  4. ^ "The Popular Mobilization Forces and Iraq's Future". carnegieendowment.org. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  5. ^ "National Alliance deadlocked over candidates for Interior Ministry". Asharq Al-Awsat. 16 September 2014. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  6. ^ "اسماء الفائزين من منطمة بدر في البرلمان المقبل". Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  7. ^ "90% من مرشحي منظمة بدر يفوزون بالانتخابات محققين 22 مقعدا". Archived from the original on 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  8. ^ "قيادي في بدر: نعمل على تشكيل تحالف جديد بعد انفصالنا عن دولة القانون". Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  9. ^ Dralonge, Richard (2008). Economics and Geopolitics of the Middle East. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. p. 61. ISBN 9781604560763.
  10. ^ a b "Breaking Badr". Foreign Policy. 6 November 2015.
  11. ^ "ميليشيا «بدر» الطائفية.. كيف تبني إيران دولة جديدة في العراق المعاصر؟". الشرق الأوسط.
  12. ^ "Hizballah Cavalcade: Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada Emerges: Updates on the New Iraqi Shia Militia Supplying Fighters to Syria". 9 September 2013.
  13. ^ "بدر.. مليشيا عراقية حاربت صدام وقاتلت مع الأسد". Archived from the original on 2018-01-21. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  14. ^ "Data" (PDF). www.washingtoninstitute.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h "Hashd Brigade Numbers Index". www.rubincenter.org. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  16. ^ "How Iran Is Building Its Syrian Hezbollah". www.washingtoninstitute.org.
  17. ^ "MMP: Kata'ib Hezbollah". cisac.fsi.stanford.edu.
  18. ^ https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-april-13-2024
  19. ^ "جيش "الطريقة النقشبندية".. لاعب جديد قديم في العراق". www.alhadath.net. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  20. ^ "الغد برس". www.alghadpress.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  21. ^ Alfoneh, Ali (4 May 2017). "Iraqi Shia Fighters in Syria".
  22. ^ "Kurdish and Iraqi forces, militias clash in northern Iraq". Long War Journal. 26 October 2017.
  23. ^ "Hezbollah and Iraqi reinforcements arrive in southern Aleppo to begin the march to Idlib". Al-Masdar News. 25 December 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  24. ^ "The IRGC's involvement in the battle for Aleppo". FDD's Long War Journal. 13 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Breaking: Syrian Army, Hezbollah liberate Al-Amariyah in northern Palmyra". 26 March 2016. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  26. ^ "Battle for southern Aleppo is under way as the Syrian Army attack Khan Touman". 8 May 2016. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  27. ^ "مجلس الوزراء يعتمد قائمة التنظيمات الإرهابية. - WAM". 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-17.
  28. ^ "The Supreme Council Undergoes Broad Changes in the Ranks… Hakim: We Paid a High Price in Previous Elections," al-Rafidayn, Nov. 20, 2011
  29. ^ "Hadi Al-Ameri: A Militia Leader Torn between Washington and Tehran". Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  30. ^ "Why the Uprisings Failed". Middle East Research and Information Project. 4 May 1992. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  31. ^ Gunter, Michael M. (March 1998). "Turkey and Iran Face off in Kurdistan". The Middle East Quarterly.
  32. ^ "Torture by Iraqi militias: the report Washington did not want you to see". Reuters. 14 Dec 2015.
  33. ^ a b c Andrew Buncombe & Patrick Cockburn, "Iraq's death squads: on the brink of civil war," The Independent (Feb. 26, 2006). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  34. ^ Kareem Fahim (February 7, 2015). "Shiite Militia Drives Back Islamic State, but Divides Much of Iraq". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2015. Daesh was like hell
  35. ^ "Quwet al-Shahid Muhammed Baqir al-Sadr". jihadology.net.
  36. ^ Al Seyasia June 2017 [dead link‍]
  37. ^ "Bas News". Archived from the original on 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  38. ^ "The Badr Organization". Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) (in German). Retrieved 2021-12-25.
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