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Iraq

Policy Analysis on Iraq

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AAH leader
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Asaib Ahl al-Haq
Asaib Ahl al-Haq is a major Iraqi armed group that identifies as part of Iran's axis of resistance but stubbornly maintains a degree of independence, forming numerous cells to conduct kinetic, media, and social operations, some bankrolled by the Iraqi state.
Apr 27, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Fatemyoun squad
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Fatemiyoun Electronic Squad
Fatemiyoun Electronic Squad is a facade group that undertakes cyberattacks on behalf of Kataib Hezbollah, in close collaboration with other affiliates.
Apr 26, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Video
Brief Analysis
Foreign Fighters and U.S. Policy: Tracking Mobilization Hubs to Stem the Flow
By examining the growth of such hubs during the Islamic State’s caliphate years, two experts assess how the international community can limit recruitment in these areas and address local grievances.
Apr 26, 2021
◆
  • Nate Rosenblatt
  • Naureen Chowdhury Fink
◆ Counterterrorism Lecture Series
Unit 10K img
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Unit 10,000
Unit 10,000 is Kataib Hezbollah's premier online facade group, specializing in the publication of resistance propaganda and the development of "electronic armies" capable of hacking, information operations, and open-source intelligence gathering.
Apr 25, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
RA
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Rijal Allah Claims the Baghdad Airport Attack
A new online facade group has undermined Kataib Hezbollah's conspiracy-laden narrative blaming the April 22 rocket strike on Iraqi Kurds.
Apr 24, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Video
Brief Analysis
The Economic Future of Northeast Syria
Experts discuss the humanitarian, trade, and security measures that are necessary to stabilizing the northeast and preventing the Islamic State and Assad from extending their harmful influence there.
Apr 23, 2021
◆
  • Jennifer Cafarella
  • Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff
  • Kenneth R. Rosen
Articles & Testimony
Can New Tech Save Iraq’s Old Economy?
In recalibrating its relationship with Baghdad, the Biden administration should consider how it can encourage the evolution of the country’s nascent cyber economy.
Apr 20, 2021
◆
  • Bilal Wahab
  • Michael Rubin
UT
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Usbat al-Thaireen
Usbat al-Thaireen is the earliest known facade group employed to veil Kataib Hezbollah's culpability in anti-coalition operations, and its eventual shutdown may provide an important case study of such a group's complete life cycle.
Apr 20, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Articles & Testimony
Iran’s Game Plan for Iraq’s Militias
Tehran still regards the full withdrawal of U.S. forces as its ultimate goal, and its Iraqi proxies are more than happy to use escalation for that purpose whenever they can.
Apr 19, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
An Iraqi member of a Shia PMF militia
Articles & Testimony
Team of Legal Gladiators? Iraqi Militias’ Tortured Relationship with Law
Iran-backed armed groups hate being exposed as criminals in the eyes of a populace that cares deeply about rule of law, so they have turned Iraq’s legal sector into a battlespace.
Apr 12, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
Sabereen cartoon
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Sabereen News
Sabereen News is the main social media conglomerate supporting all "resistance" actions and factions in Iraq.
Apr 9, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
RA img
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Raba Allah
Raba Allah is the "mothership" for vigilante and counter-protester groups developed by the Kataib Hezbollah network.
Apr 9, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
MD
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Rising Profile of Fasail al-Muqawama al-Duwaliya in Convoy Bombings
The group has intensified its claims of convoy attacks, shifting from Anbar-focused roadside bombings to incidents on the Kuwaiti border.
Apr 2, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
KH flag
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Kataib Hezbollah
Kataib Hezbollah is the premier militia in Iraq, operating under Iran's direct command and fielding a wide range of cells responsible for kinetic, media, and social operations, some bankrolled by the Iraqi state.
Apr 1, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
WH
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq
A facade group with unique ties to Kataib Hezbollah, Alwiyat al-Waad al-Haq has been used exclusively to claim or threaten attacks against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Apr 1, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Brief Analysis
One Less Hurdle Before Iraqi Elections
A complicated parliamentary compromise has reactivated some of the machinery required for this year’s proposed ballot and a potential resolution to the KRG energy dispute, though the country’s hobbled legal institutions are still holding back reform.
Apr 1, 2021
◆
  • Safwan Al-Amin
  • Bilal Wahab
AK img
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Kataib Sarkhat al-Quds (formerly known as Ashab al-Kahf)
The first and best-known of the facade groups that Iran-backed militias use to conceal their involvement in operations, Kataib Sarkhat al-Quds (formerly known as Ashab al-Kahf) has a particularly strong connection to AAH and, more recently, HaN.
Apr 1, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
  • Sary Mumayiz
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
QJ
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Qasem al-Jabbarin
Qasem al-Jabbarin is a Kataib Hezbollah-directed facade group that specializes in roadside bombings against Iraqi supply trucks servicing the U.S. military in Iraq.
Apr 1, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
AD graphic
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Saraya Awliya al-Dam
This minor facade group is occasionally used to claim bombing attacks on U.S. supply convoys and rocket attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Mar 29, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Articles & Testimony
Why Iran’s Proxies Fear Evidence
Iraqi militias value legitimacy and try to portray themselves as acting within the law, so evidence-based approaches can be very effective at reining in those who attack on Tehran’s behalf.
Mar 25, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights

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Featured experts

Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Eisenstadt is the Kahn Senior Fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program.
Michael Knights
Michael Knights
Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and cofounder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to Iran-backed militias.
Bilal Wahab
Bilal Wahab
Bilal Wahab was the Nathan and Esther K. Wagner Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Elizabeth Dent - source: The Washington Institute
Elizabeth Dent
Elizabeth Dent is a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where she focuses on U.S. foreign and defense policy toward the Gulf states, Iraq, and Syria.
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