Iraq’s ‘Hezbollah Brigades’ Militia Digs Tunnels East of Raqqa, Sets Up New Camp

Members of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades marching in Baghdad in 2018 in memory of fallen fighters in Syria (Getty Images)
Members of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades marching in Baghdad in 2018 in memory of fallen fighters in Syria (Getty Images)
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Iraq’s ‘Hezbollah Brigades’ Militia Digs Tunnels East of Raqqa, Sets Up New Camp

Members of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades marching in Baghdad in 2018 in memory of fallen fighters in Syria (Getty Images)
Members of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades marching in Baghdad in 2018 in memory of fallen fighters in Syria (Getty Images)

Bracing for greater recruitment, the Iraq-based “Hezbollah Brigades” militia set up a new boot camp in Syria’s eastern governorate of Raqqa, local sources reported, revealing that its location is somewhere near Al-Sabkha valley.

Heavy machinery and over a hundred tunnel diggers have been moved to the camp’s site, sources confirmed.

A local opposition media outlet, “Eye of Euphrates,” said that the Iran-backed militia had started preparing the camp over “Al-Zaeem” farmlands during the last 48 hours and had employed around 120 onsite construction workers.

The Hezbollah Brigade militia scaled up its digging of trenches and expansion operations for its camps and headquarters in the area “without any interference from the Syrian regime,” sources reported.

It is noteworthy that the Iran-aligned militia was founded in 2007 by the late Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, who served as an advisor to the late Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the time.

Both al-Mohandis and Soleimani were killed in early 2020.

The Hezbollah Brigades militia is believed to be 140,000 combatants strong and is considered one of the most prominent factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of approximately 40 forces.

Iran established the Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq in 2014 under the pretext of confronting ISIS in Iraq. However, its operations expanded to include areas of Iranian influence inside Syria.

In Syria, the Iraq-based militia has two main headquarters, both of which are located in Raqqa.

According to local sources, a few days ago, it began digging tunnels and military trenches in the Sefiane area and along the lines of contact with the areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

During May, the Iraqi militia sent military reinforcements to the administrative border between Raqqa city and Deir Ez-Zor in the eastern countryside of the Raqqa governorate.

Another militia, called Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, also supported by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, recently opened a new financial center and affiliation office west of Deir Ez-Zor.



Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a "heinous" suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.

The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice," Sharaa said in a statement, AFP reported.

The attack "reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation's security and stability", he added.

Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack -- the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities' greatest challenges.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.