Badr Organization

2003–present as a political movement Khomeinism Wilayat al-Faqih Anti-Sunnism State of Law Coalition (2014–18) Fatah Alliance (2018–present) 2014–present 10,000–15,000 (2014) Popular Mobilization Forces (2014–present)

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• Israel
• Ba'athist Iraq (1982–2003) |Ba'athist Iraq Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order |Flag of the People's Mujahedin of Iran.svg People's Mujahedin of Iran |Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |Flag_of_Islamic_Army_In_Iraq.svg Islamic Army in Iraq |Syria Free Syrian Army |Iraqi Kurdistan Peshmerga
• Iran–Iraq War
• 1991 uprisings in Iraq
  • 1991 uprising in Basra
  • 1991 uprising in Karbala
• Kurdish Civil War
• Iraq War
  • Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)
    • 2003–2006 phase of the Iraqi insurgency
  • Battle of Amarah
  • Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)
  • Battle of Basra
• War in Iraq (2013–2017)
  • Salahuddin campaign
  • Siege of Amirli
  • Operation Ashura
  • Dhuluiya offensive
  • Battle of Baiji (2014–15)
  • Second Battle of Tikrit
  • Battle of Mosul (2016)
  • 2015–2018 Iraqi protests
• Syrian Civil War
  • Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015)
  • Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016)
  • Palmyra offensive (March 2016)
  • 2016 Southern Aleppo campaign
  • Northwestern Syria offensive (2024)
• Iraqi insurgency (2017–present)

The Badr Organization ( Munaẓẓama Badr), previously known as the Badr Brigades or Badr Corps, is an Iraqi Shia Islamist and Khomeinist political party and paramilitary organization headed by Hadi al-Amiri. The Badr Brigade, formed in 1982 and led by Iranian officers, served as the military arm of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a Shia Islamic party based in Iran. The Badr Brigade was created by Iranian intelligence and Shia cleric Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim with the aim of fighting the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq War. Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, most of the Badr Brigade fighters have entered the new Iraqi army and police force. Since 2003, the Badr Brigade and SCIRI were considered to be one party, but have recently unofficially separated with the Badr Organization now being an official Iraqi political party. Badr Brigade forces, and their Iranian commanders, have come to prominence in 2014 fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq. It is a part of the Popular Mobilization Forces.

History

SCIRI

The organization was formed in Iran in 1982 as the military wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. It was based in Iran for two decades during the rule of Saddam Hussein and led by Iranian officers. It consisted of several thousand Iraqi exiles, refugees, and Iraqi Army defectors who fought alongside Iranian troops in the Iran–Iraq War. The group was armed and directed by Iran.

They briefly returned to Iraq in 1991 during the 1991 Iraqi uprising to fight against Saddam Hussein, focusing on the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. They retreated into Iran after the uprising was crushed.

In 1995, during the Kurdish Civil War, Iran deployed 5,000 Badr fighters to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Post-invasion Iraq

Returning to Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion, the group changed its name from brigade to organization in response to the attempted voluntary disarming of Iraqi militias by the Coalition Provisional Authority. It is however widely believed the organization was still active as a militia within the security forces and it had been accused of running a secret prison and sectarian killings during the Iraqi Civil War.

Because of their opposition to Saddam Hussein, the Badr Brigade was seen as a U.S. asset in the fight against Baathist partisans. After the fall of Baghdad, Badr forces reportedly joined the newly reconstituted army, police, and the Interior Ministry in significant numbers. The Interior Ministry was controlled by SCIRI, and many Badr members became part of the Interior Ministry-run Wolf Brigade. The Iraqi Interior Minister, Bayan Jabr, was a former leader of Badr Brigade militia.

In 2006 the United Nations human rights chief in Iraq, John Pace, said that hundreds of Iraqis were being tortured to death or executed by the Interior Ministry under SCIRI's control. According to a 2006 report by the Independent newspaper:

Military action against ISIL

Main article: War in Iraq (2013–2017)

Following ISIL's successful Anbar campaign and June 2014 offensive, the Badr Organization mobilized and won a series of battles against ISIL, including the Liberation of Jurf Al Sakhr and the Lifting of the Siege of Amirli. In early February 2015, the group, operating from its base at Camp Ashraf, fought in Diyala Governorate against ISIL. Over 100 militia were killed in the fighting, including 25 in Al Mansouryah. Badr's leader, Hadi al-Amiri, said his militiamen were committed to the safety of Sunnis, but deep mutual suspicions remained in the light of recent sectarian killings and the suspicion that some Sunni tribes were allied with IS. A leaked US diplomatic cable cited sources alleging that Hadi al-Amiri had personally ordered attacks on Sunnis.

Structure

The Badr Corps consists of infantry, armor, artillery, anti-aircraft, and commando units with an estimated strength of between 10,000 and 50,000 men (according to the Badr Organization).

• Quwat al-Shahid Muhammed Baqir al-Sadr
• Imam Muhammad al-Jawad Brigade
• Karbala Brigade
• Tashkil al-Karar
• The Turkmen Brigade Northern Front
• Quwat al-Shaheed al-Qa'id Abu Muntadhar al-Muhammadawi
• Tashkil Malik al-Ashtar
• Feyli Kurd Brigade – 16 June 2014
  • Led by Secretary-General of Supreme National Front of Feyli Kurds, Maher al-Feyli
  • Size: 1,000–5,000
  • Helped by: Saad al-Madlabi (from State of Law Coalition) and Mouin Al-Kazmi

Scientific evaluation

The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) recognized a rise in the Shiite Badr organization since 2014 under the leadership of its Secretary General Hadi al-Amiri. In 2017, SWP wrote that the Badr organization is one of "the most important actors in Iraqi politics". It has become the most important instrument of Iranian politics in Iraq. Its aim is "to exert the greatest possible influence on the central government in Baghdad and at the same time to build the strongest possible Shiite militias that are dependent on Iran". The foundation compared the role of the organization with that of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Election results

References

References

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