The Brigade of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
:لواء أبو الفضل العباس, ''Liwa Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas''), also known as the al-Abbas Brigade (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
:كتائب العباس, ''Kata'ib al-Abbas''), is a pro-government
Twelver
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
Shia Muslim
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
militant group operating throughout
Syria. It is named after the nickname of
Al-Abbas ibn Ali
Al-Abbas ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib ( ar, ٱلْعَبَّاس ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱبْن أَبِي طَالِب, al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAlīy ibn ʾAbī Ṭālib), also known as Abu al-Fadl ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْفَضْل, link=no) (15 May 647 - ...
, son of
Imam Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
.
The group was formed in late 2012 to defend the
Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque and other Shia holy sites in Syria. It rose in prominence in reaction to the desecration of various shrines, heritage sites, and places of worship by
Syrian rebels during the
Syrian civil war, and subsequently collaborated with the
Syrian Army. Its fighters include Shia
Damascenes, Damascus-based Shia
Iraqi refugees, and
foreign Shia volunteers, mostly from Iraq.
It fights primarily around Damascus, but has fought in
Aleppo as well.
In May and June 2013, Reuters reported a split had developed within the brigade over finances and leadership which led to violence. Many non-Syrian members subsequently formed a different brigade.
On 19 May 2014, fighters from the
Nour al-Din al-Zanki Brigade claimed to have taken over the al-Abbas Brigade's regional headquarters in Aleppo.
As the
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
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 ...
made
significant gains in Iraq in mid-2014, many its Iraqi members returned home to defend the faltering government in Baghdad.
The al-Abbas Bridge took part in the
2018 Southern Syria offensive
The 2018 Southern Syria offensive, code-named Operation Basalt ( ar, عملية البازلت), was a military operation launched by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies against the rebels and ISIL in Southern Syria. The fighting began w ...
in support of government troops.
See also
*
List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the ongoing Syrian Civil War as belligerents.
Syrian Arab Republic and allies
A number of sources have emphasized that as of at least late-2015/early-2016 the Syrian Arab Republic ...
*
Quwat Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas
*
Holy Shrine Defender
References
Anti-ISIL factions in Syria
Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war
Resistance movements
Shia Islamist groups
Shia organizations
Syrian Shia organizations
Military units and formations established in 2012
Organizations designated as terrorist by the United Arab Emirates
Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist
Jihadist groups in Syria
Jihadist groups in Iraq
Arab militant groups
Axis of Resistance
{{Syria-mil-stub