Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces ( ar, قوات أبو الفضل العباس ''Quwwat ‘Ābū al-Faḍl al-‘Abbās''), officially named the Qaeda Quwwat Abu Fadl al-Abbas, is a Shiite militia operating in Iraq, formed following the June 2014

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

advances. The force is affiliated with Sheikh Aws al-Khafaji, who was previously aligned with

Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...

. The group claims an affinity with the similarly named

Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas The Brigade of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas (Arabic:لواء أبو الفضل العباس, ''Liwa Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas''), also known as the al-Abbas Brigade (Arabic:كتائب العباس, ''Kata'ib al-Abbas''), is a pro-government Twelver Shia Musli ...

group fighting in Syrian Civil War on behalf of the Syrian government. QQAFA also appears to have deep links to Kataib al-Imam Ali. In February 2019, the

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ( ar, الحشد الشعبي ''al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī''), also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization ...

(PMF) raided a base belonging to the group, during the raid the group's leader Aws al-Khafaji was arrested by Iraqi forces, the Popular Mobilization Forces claimed that the raid was part of an ongoing operation to crack down on fake groups claiming to be part of PMF in order to commit crimes. The group also never formally declared itself as part of PMF nor had it ever registered as part of PMF with the Iraqi government. The group's leader Aws al-Khafaji has also expressed ideological differences with Iran, and has been critical of Iranian influence in Iraq, and though having a falling out with Muqtada al-Sadr still adheres to the

Sadrist The Sadrist Movement ( ar, التيار الصدري ') is an Iraqi Islamic national movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The movement draws wide support from across Iraqi society and especially from the Shi'a poor in the country. The most importan ...

ideology. Khafaji also voiced support for

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

in Iraq in mid-2018 over Iranian and Turkish policies causing high salinity in Iraqi water. During the protests against Iranian policies and influence in Iraq, another commander in the group wrote, "Every noble Iraqi must boycott Iran and Turkey in business, tourism and politics. This is the fate of a country and the Messenger of God (SAWS) said: a non-Arab has shown no compassion for an Arab at all by the Lord of the Ka'aba." Prior to the arrest of the group's overall leader, Khafaji, he made statements in the media criticizing Iran, supporters of the group have claimed that his opposition and criticism of Iran are the real reasons for Khafaji's arrest. Other members of the group have condemned Iran on social media citing that they are not part of PMF as it contains several factions loyal to Iran. The group's branch in Syria and other allied militias composed of Iraqis released a statement condemning the arrest Khafaji.

References

Anti-ISIL factions in Iraq Paramilitary forces of Iraq Resistance movements Shia Islamist groups Shia organizations Arab militant groups Anti-ISIL factions in Syria Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war Jihadist groups in Iraq Axis of Resistance {{Iraq-mil-stub

See also

References