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The Khan Arnabeh Municipal Council: Interview

June 12, 2019 at 6:28 pm

Khan Arnabeh is a locality located in Quneitra province on the border with the occupied Syrian Golan. During the Syrian civil war the locality remained under the control of the Syrian government and its inhabitants played an important role in preventing the insurgents from taking over all of Quneitra province.

To discuss the history of Khan Arnabeh and the current situation there further, I conducted an interview on 13 May 2019 with the municipal council of Khan Arnabeh. Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.

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Liwa al-Quds of the Hashd of Defence: Interview

June 9, 2019 at 8:16 pm

A previous post featured an interview with the commander of Liwa Usud al-Marja'iya, one of the formations within the 'Hashd of Defence' affiliated with the Defence Ministry rather than the Hashd Sha'abi Commission. To explore the Hashd of Defence further, I conducted an interview on 9 June 2019 with the commander of Liwa al-Quds (The Jerusalem Brigade). This Liwa al-Quds is also affiliated with the Hashd of Defence and should not be confused with the Liwa al-Quds in Syria that is affiliated with the Syrian military intelligence and has developed close ties with Russia.

Born in 1959, the commander is a retired Iraqi army officer, having been retired in 1991.

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The Hashd's Missiles Directorate: Interview

June 8, 2019 at 6:08 pm

In addition to the major factions of the Hashd Sha'abi Commission that are identified through brigade numbers, there are also 'directorates' for some specialized units. Officially speaking, these specialized units are affiliated with the Hashd Sha'abi Commission and are not supposed to be tied to a particular faction within the commission.

One of the specialist teams is the Missiles Directorate (Mudiriyat al-Sawarikh), originally known as the Missiles Battalion (Katibat al-Sawarikh). Its origins actually lie in Kata'ib Hezbollah. On 8 June 2019, I interviewed a media guy for the Directorate. The interview is below. Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.

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The Hashd of Defence: Interview

June 7, 2019 at 7:38 pm

Most observers of Iraq are familiar with the Hashd Sha'abi ('Popular Mobilization'), a collection of factions that come under the Hashd Sha'abi Commission. Much more obscure is the Hashd al-Difa' ('Hashd of Defence'), a group of formations that are affiliated with the Defence Ministry.

To learn more about the Hashd al-Difa', I conducted an interview with Abu Asad al-Hasanawi, commander of the Hashd al-Difa' group Liwa Usud al-Marja'iya ('Lions of the Marja'iya Brigade'). This interview was conducted on 7 June 2019. Any parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own.

Q: When was the brigade [Liwa Usud al-Marja'iya] formed?

A: The brigade was formed on 1 June 2014.

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