Usbat al-Thairen: New beginning for armed terrorism in Iraq

Ali Ragab

Today, Iraq is home to sectarian militias that raise the slogan of fighting US forces, but over time they have become a sword hanging over Iraqis’ necks.

On Sunday, March 15, a militia calling itself Usbat al-Thairen (Leagues of Revolutionaries) announced the adoption of military operations targeting US forces at the Camp Taji military base north of Baghdad. This is a new terrorist organization joining the field of Sunni and Shiite organizations of various walks and loyalties.

Two separate attacks resulted in the deaths of three American and British soldiers, as well as the wounding of a number of other employees of the US-led international coalition fighting ISIS.

Usbat al-Thairen’s statement stressed that the operations are the first in response to Washington’s assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani near the Baghdad airport earlier this year. The statement added that the attacks will increase until the “occupation forces” evacuate.

The new terrorist organization combines Shiite militia slogans and left-wing slogans. For this reason, some people argue that Usbat al-Thairen has two faces – Shiite and Sunni – and it may also be an Iraqi version of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, a Sunni body with the spirit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

It can be said that this nascent organization emerged from the womb of Shiite militias and was also influenced by the literature of al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Iraqi security expert Hisham al-Hashemi told the Reference that Usbat al-Thairen was not previously known among the Iraqi armed factions, adding that the militia’s name is taken from the literature of Palestinian jihad movements. It seems to be close to the three factions that blessed the targeting of Camp Taji.

Mahmoud Jaber, a political analyst and expert in Iraqi affairs, believes that Usbat al-Thairen constitutes a new generation of armed action that combines the technique of Sunni jihad and the arming of Shiite forces.

Jaber told the Reference that the video clip in which the organization announced carrying out the Camp Taji operation was similar to other jihadist groups in its use of vocabulary and filming the operation.

However, the organization also emphasized seeking revenge against the killers of Soleimani and Muhandis and used Shiite phrases, which means it is likely a mix of Shiite and Sunni organizations, Jaber said, adding that this marks a new beginning for armed action in Iraq.