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Liwa Zainebiyoun لواء زينبیون
Also known as	Hezbollah Pakistan
Commander	Saqib Haider Karbalai  †
Dates of operation	2012, but officially in late 2014 – present
Allegiance	Iran (IRGC)
Active regions	Syria
Ideology	Shia Islamism Jihadism Khomeinism Wilayat al Faqih Anti-Zionism Anti-Americanism
Slogan	إِن يَنصُرْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ "If Allah helps you, none can defeat you."
Status	Active (banned in Pakistan)
Size	~Several hundreds (est. 2014) c. 800+ (est. 2019)
Part of	Axis of Resistance
Allies	State allies Iran Iraq (Popular Mobilization Units)  Russia Syria  Yemen (Supreme Political Council) Non-State allies National Defence Forces Liwa Fatemiyoun Hezbollah Afghanistan Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas  Hezbollah Houthis
Opponents	State opponents  United States  Israel  Yemen (Alimi government)  Saudi Arabia Non-State opponents National Front for Liberation Free Syrian Army Syrian National Army Islamic Front al-Nusra Front Tahrir al-Sham Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Ahrar al-Sham Syrian Democratic Forces Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistani Taliban
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) Aleppo offensive (October–November 2016) Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016) Siege of Deir ez-Zor Palmyra offensive (2017) Hama offensive (March–April 2017) Battle of Khasham Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020) War in Iraq (2013–2017) Yemeni Civil War Sectarian violence in Pakistan
Designated as a terrorist group by	{{unbulletedlist

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. It draws recruits mainly from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran, with some also Shia Muslim communities living in various regions of Pakistan.

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

Overview

Background

The core of Liwa Zainebiyoun is constituted of former members and fighters of the Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, the former Shia Islamist armed organisation in Pakistan which fought against the Anti-Shia sectarian leadership of the banned terrorist groups Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, It had strong presence in Shia communities in Pakistan and it was headquartered in Thokar Niaz Beg the Shia majority town of Lahore, ran a "virtual state within a state" in the 1990s until its collapse in 2007 or 2010. Later around 2012 or 2013 its former members formed the Zainebiyoun Brigade as a Pakistani Shiite volunteer group after the formation of Liwa Fatemiyoun Brigade, the Afghan Shiite volunteer group under the orders of IRGC, According to news sources affiliated with the IRGC, the group was founded during Syrian civil war but officially started the armed operations late in 2014 especially in Syria to support Bashar al-Assad government against Syrian opposition and ISIL. Its fighters also were involved limitedly in War in Iraq (2013–2017) and Yemeni civil war under the support of IRGC as Brigade is the part of Iran's Axis of Resistance. The sources affiliated with the IRGC, Its official purpose is to defend the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque (the shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, sister of Imam Hussain and granddaughter of the prophet Muhammad) and other Shia holy sites in Syria and Iraq and to protect IRGC interests in Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict also in Iran–Israel proxy conflict. It operates primarily in Damascus defending holy sites. However, since 2015, it officially has engaged in intense offensives around Daraa and Aleppo, along with other foreign Shia fighters.

Recruitment and training

The Pakistani Shiite volunteers have been fighting in various conflicts since 2012 especially in Syrian civil war on pro-government side under the orders of IRGC. In addition, large numbers of Pakistani Shia fighters have fought on the pro-government side, mainly in the Zeinabiyoun Brigade, which has up to 1,000 fighters in Syria. They originally fought in the Afghan Liwa Fatemiyoun, and only became numerous enough to warrant a distinct brigade in early 2015. Some of the fighters are Hazara and Baloch while others are Pashtun (mainly from Parachinar), Punjabi or Balti from Gilgit-Baltistan and Karachi including Kashmiris from the Kashmir. Like other Shiite foreign brigades in Syria, it is funded, trained, and overseen by the IRGC.

Losses of volunteer fighters

In 2019, the U.S. State Department claimed that the over 158 Pakistani national fighters of Iranian-backed Zainebiyoun Brigade were killed in Syria between January 2012 and August 2018.

On 9 April 2015, seven fighters were killed defending the Imam Hasan Mosque in Damascus and were buried in Qom, Iran. In March 2016, six fighters were killed defending the Imam Reza shrine, also buried in Qom. On 23 April, five more fighters were killed. An estimated 69 fighters were killed between November 2014 and March 2016.

In February 2018, the brigade was involved in the Battle of Khasham along with Russian Wagner Group and Interbrigades against the US special forces and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and lost many fighters.

Presence outside Syria

Iraq

The brigade fought in Iraq against ISIL during the War in Iraq (2013–17) with other foreign Shia fighters to defend and protect holy sites and Iraqi peoples from the ISIL.

Yemen

In 2019, Some media sources claim that the brigade is allegedly involved in Yemeni Civil War along with other foreign Shia fighters to fought against the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and to support Houthis.

Pakistan

The Zainebiyoun brigade has involved in Sectarian violence in Pakistan actively in Parachinar along with other local Shia militas based in Parachinar region for the Protection of Shia Muslim community and to against the Anti-Shia banned sectarian terrorist groups Sipah-e-Sahaba, Pakistani Taliban, Islamic State – Khorasan Province and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for targeting Shia minority of Parachinar, however the Zainebiyoun brigade reportedly has strong presence and support base in Parachinar's Shia muslim community also have sent hundreds of fighters to Syria from Parachinar region.

Reaction in Pakistan

Reaction

In December 2015, a bomb killed 25 and injured over 30 in Parachinar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility, and said that it was "revenge for the crimes against Syrian Muslims by Iran and Bashar al-Assad" and threatened to continue terror attacks if Parachinar citizens did not "stop sending people to take part in Syrian war".

The government of Pakistan officially denies the presence of Pakistani fighters in Syria, and has been reluctant to take back members of the brigade caught in Syria.

After the reports of presence of Pakistani fighters of Zainebiyoun brigade in Syria, The Pakistani Taliban claimed they have set up camps and sent hundreds of fighters to Syria to fight alongside Islamist jihadist groups opposed to Bashar al-Assad such as al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham and Ansar al-Tawhid in an effort to strengthen ties with al Qaeda against the government of Pakistan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Insurgency.

Disappearance and death of the brigade commander

The brigade's former commander Saqib Haider karbalai, Muhammad Jannati, also known by the Arabic-language nickname Haj Haider (Iranian nickname) in Syria he was a Pakistani Pashtun Shia militant from Parachinar he was well known for his Anti-America and Anti-Zionist views and speeches in his hometown, he had strong ties with Iran's Ayatollah regime and was a strong supporter of Wilayat al Faqih concept including Khomeinism ideology. The IRGC-affiliated source's claimed that the Haj Haider went Iran, Iraq and Syria multiple times for Ziyarah of Shia holy sites in 2000s where he meet many IRGC officers and had established close ties with them at the beginning of the Syrian civil war the IRGC appointed him and Afghan Shia militant Ali Reza Tavassoli as an Chief Commanders of Zainebiyoun and Fatemiyoun Brigade mainly appointed by Qasem Soleimani, the erstwhile Iranian commander of the Quds Force, as an commanders of Shia volunteer fighters from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen with training and funding from Iran to defend the Shia holy shrines from ISIL and it's subgroups they served as the commander of brigade until their death.

In 2017, Saqib Haider Karbalai went missing while fighting alongside Syrian government forces during the Hama offensive (March–April 2017). The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported his death in 2019, claiming that the body of Haider was transferred to Tehran two years after he was killed in the Syrian city of Hama by ISIS terrorists. According to Tasnim News Agency, the identity of the commander of the Zainabiyoun Brigade was identified after a DNA test, and he was transferred to Tehran where he was to be buried. The news agency also reported that “his body has no head and no arms" and that he was killed in action in April 2017 in the Tal Turabi area in the Hama Governorate, during the offensive.

Relationship with Liwa Fatemiyoun & Hezbollah Afghanistan

According to researcher Phillip Smyth, Liwa Fatemiyoun, Liwa Zainebiyoun and Hezbollah Afghanistan were originally different groups, but showed such great overlap in ideology and membership by 2014 that they had become "incorporated". In contrast, researcher Oved Lobel continued to regard Liwa Fatemiyoun and Hezbollah Afghanistan as separate organizations in 2018, though groups were part of Iran's "regional proxy network". Other sources such as Jihad Intel and Arab News have treated the militas as the same organization. Researcher Michael Robillard called Liwa Fatemiyoun a "branch of Hezbollah Afghanistan". Iran is also known to have established branches of Hezbollah in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with several pro-Iranian groups operating in both countries by the Soviet–Afghan War.

Designation as a terrorist organization and ban

Liwa Zainebiyoun is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department in 2019, saying it is composed of Pakistani nationals and provides "materiel support" to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC and in 2024 the Interior Ministry of Pakistan banned the Zainebiyoun Brigade, saying it "is engaged in certain activities which are prejudicial to the peace and security" of Pakistan. It did not elaborate, A ministry official confirmed the authenticity of the March 29 order and placement of the Zaynabiyoun Brigade on a government list of 79 proscribed organizations.

See also

• Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war

• Liwa Fatemiyoun
• List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
• Holy Shrine Defender

References

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v t e Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Joint Staff General Provost Ministry Rank Insignia
Commanders	Abbas Agha-Zamani Morteza Rezaee Mohsen Rezaee Yahya Rahim Safavi Mohammad Ali Jafari Hossein Salami
Forces	Ground Forces Navy Aerospace Force Quds Force Basij Nuclear Protection and Security
Military Branches	Former divisions 8th Najaf Ashraf 14th Imam Hossein 17th Ali ibn Abi Taleb 25th Karbala 27th Mohammad Rasulullah 31st Ashura 33rd Al-Mahdi 41st Tharallah Provincial Corps Ardabil Hazrat Abbas East Azerbaijan Ashura West Azerbaijan Shohada Bushehr Imam Sadiq Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Qamar Bani Hashim Fars Fajr Gilan Quds Golestan Neynava Hamedan Ansar al-Hussain Hormozgan Imam Sajjad Ilam Amir al-Muminin Isfahan Sahib-az-Zaman Kerman Sarallah Kermanshah Nabi Akram Khuzestan Valieasr Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Fath Kurdistan Beit ol-Moqaddas South Khorasan Ansar al-Ridha Razavi Khorasan Imam Reza Razavi Khorasan Jawad al-Aemmah Losrestan Hazrat Abalfazl Mazandaran Karbala Markazi Ruhollah Tehran Muhammad Rasoul-Allah Tehran Sayid al-Shohada Qazvin Sahib al-Amr Qom Ali ibn Abi-Talib Semnan Qaim Aale-Muhammad Sistan and Baluchestan Salman Yazd Al-Ghadir Zanjan Ansar al-Mahdi
Intelligence Agencies	Intelligence and Security Organization Intelligence Protection Organization
Academies	Imam Hossein University Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences Military Hospital University of Command and Staff
Media	Fars News Agency Tasnim News Agency Mashregh News Owj Arts and Media Organization
Economic Branches	Cooperation Bonyad Khatam-al Anbiya Fater Imensazan Mobin SADRA
Category:Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

• Axis of Resistance
• Anti-Americanism
• Anti-Israeli sentiment in Asia
• Entities related to Iran Sanctions
• Iran–Pakistan relations
• Jihadist groups in Syria
• Military units and formations established in 2015
• Pakistan–Syria relations
• Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war
• Shia Islam in Pakistan
• Khomeinist groups
• Organisations designated as terrorist by Pakistan