Kata'ib Jund al-Imam (; Soldiers of the Imam Battalion) is an Iraqi

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

militant organization and the sixth brigade of the

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; ), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella group that operates within Iraq. Although formally and legally part of the Iraqi Armed Forces and reportin ...

History

The group was originally formed as a militia during the

1991 Iraqi uprisings The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings against Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime in Iraq that were led by Shia Arabs and Kurds. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of th ...

with help from Iran. The group came back to prominence after re-grouping in Iraq to fight against the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

, one of the main motives for the re-grouping was the

Camp Speicher massacre On 12 June 2014, the Islamic State (IS) summarily executed between 1,095 and 1,700 Iraqi cadets near Tikrit. The killings took place during IS's Northern Iraq offensive, when the cadets were captured outside of Camp Speicher during their at ...

. In 2014, it participated in the liberation of Jurf Al Sakhar in helping take back control of the area from the Islamic State. In 2017, the group, along with six other groups, formed the Popular Mobilization Forces as an alliance group.

References

{{Militant Islamism in the Middle East Shia organizations Khomeinist groups 1991 establishments in Iraq Factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces Hezbollah