Saraya Awliya al-Dam, also referred to by the abbreviation SAD, is a
Shi'ite
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 n ...
pro-
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
militia based in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. The organization is known for its counter-U.S. operations in Northern Iraq.
In 2021, the group claimed responsibility for the
2021 Erbil rocket attacks, which killed two civilians and injured six more, including an American soldier.
A report by
the Washington Institute suggested that they might have connections to
Asaib Ahl al-Haq, an Iraqi Shi'a paramilitary.
History
SAD has been described as "a relatively new player" in the
Iraqi conflict
The Iraqi conflict is an armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led Multi-National Force – Iraq, coalition that toppled the Ba'athist Iraq, government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued as an insurge ...
. The first operation of Saraya Awliya al-Dam occurred on 24 August 2020, when they attacked a group of Iraqi trucks that may have been carrying U.S. goods. The organization confirmed they were responsible.
On 6 January 2021, another attack was launched by SAD on another convoy of trucks.
The day after the
2021 Erbil rocket attacks, SAD claimed responsibility for the airstrikes.
It was the most serious attack on the coalition since the
Biden administration
Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
began. SAD proclaimed:
The American occupation will not be safe from our strikes in any inch of the homeland, even in Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
, where we promise we will carry out other qualitative operations.
Foreign relations
SAD officially supports Iran, and is often classified as an Iranian proxy.
Iranian officials have denied allegations by some Iraqi politicians that they have ties to the group.
SAD may also have ties to
Kataib Hezbollah
Kata'ib Hezbollah ( ar, كتائب حزب الله, lit=Battalions of the Party of God)—or the Hezbollah Battalions—is a radical Shia Islam in Iraq, Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces backed by ...
, which officially backs Iran.
The SAD is generally considered to be at odds with
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and could possibly pose a threat to
Turkey–Iran relations in the future. After the Erbil attacks, the SAD announced that they "only targeted American, Turkish, and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i occupation bases." The journalist
Shelly Kittleson
Shelly or Shelli may refer to:
Places
* Shelly, Minnesota, a small city in the United States
* Shelly, Richland Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States
* Shelly Township, Norman County, Minnesota
* Shelly Park, a suburb in Aucklan ...
commented:
Though many armed groups and others in the country have, for more than a decade, demanded an end to the "American-Israeli occupation", the addition of "Turkish" is significant.
Many commentators have suggested that SAD could be a front for 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).
Reports by the Washington Institute suggested that they might have connections to
Asaib Ahl al-Haq, an Iraqi Shi'a paramilitary,
which is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States.
Criticism
Many critics have described it as a
terrorist group
A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...
.
Other commentators have accused Iran of denying their alleged ties to the SAD.
Social media
The militia has a
Telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
account, which has been repeatedly noted by different news sources.
References
{{Reflist
Militias in Asia
Arab militant groups
Paramilitary forces of Iraq
Khomeinist groups
Axis of Resistance