The term militia in contemporary Iraq refers to armed groups that fight on behalf of or as part of the Iraqi government, the Mahdi Army and Badr Organization being two of the biggest. Many predate the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but some have emerged since, such as the Facilities Protection Service. The Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003 undermined the internal order in the country and brought about, among other things, the establishment of several pro-Iranian militias affiliated with the IRGC's Quds Force. The militias were set up with the purpose of driving the U.S. and Coalition forces out of Iraq and establishing Iranian involvement in the country. Prominent among the militias are Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba.
Special Groups (SGs) is a designation given by the United States military to the cell-based Shi'a paramilitary organizations operating within Iraq, backed by Iran. According to the United States these groups are funded, trained, and armed by the Iranian Quds Force, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to the United States Department of Defense, 603 American troops in total were confirmed to have been killed by IRGC-backed Shia militias during the Iraq War.
Kata'ib Hezbollah —or the Hezbollah Brigades—is a radical Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group which used to be part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, staffing the 45th, 46th, and 47th Brigades. During the Iraq War (2003–11), the group fought against Coalition forces. It has been active in the War in Iraq (2013–2017) and the Syrian civil war (2011–present). The group was commanded by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis until he was killed in a US drone attack in 2020. Thereafter, he was replaced by Abdul Aziz al-Muhammadawi, as the new leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). KH seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel American forces from the country, and advance the regional and international interests of Iran in Iraq and the region. The group is responsible for killing hundreds of U.S. soldiers and takes a central part in carrying out attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq and acts as part of the Axis of Resistance. Kata'ib Hezbollah is directly subordinate to Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's (IRGC) Quds Force and operates under its instructions and guidance.
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, also known as the Khazali Network, is a radical Iraqi Shi'a political party and paramilitary group active in the Iraqi insurgency and Syrian Civil War. During the Iraq War it was known as Iraq's largest "Special Group", and, from 2016 until 2020, used to be part of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in the 41st, 42nd, and 43rd Brigades, cooperating with the Iraqi government in its fight against ISIS.
The Sheibani Network was an Iraqi smuggling network and Shi'a Insurgent group led by Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani, an ex-commander of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq's Badr Brigades. The Badr Brigades' militiamen and supply lines became known collectively as the “Sheibani Network,” which maintained links to AAH and to Kata'ib Hezbollah. The group was believed to be used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force to supply Iraqi Special Groups. The group is alleged to be responsible for numerous attacks on Iraqi and Coalition forces. In 2009 the American Enterprise Institute believed that the network consisted of 280 members, divided in 17 units. US commanders estimated that weapons smuggled and used by the group were responsible for the death of 170 and injury of 600 American soldiers by February 2007. Beginning in February 2013, reports from Iraqi newspapers Al Masalah and Kitabat claimed splits had emerged within Kata'ib Hezbollah, leading to the expulsion of al-Sheibani as its leader. In May 2013 al-Sheibani founded Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, but retired from his role as leader in 2014 when he became an advisor to Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammed Al-Ghabban.
Safir is an Iranian 4x4 multipurpose military vehicle built by Fath Vehicle Industries. The Safir weighs 1.5 tonne and is based on the M38. The jeep can be distinguished from the M38 due to the sharp angled body panels, hood and grille.
The Popular Mobilization Forces, also known as the People's Mobilization Committee (PMC) and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of approximately 67 different armed factions, with around 230,000 fighters that are mostly Shia Muslim groups, but also include Sunni Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi groups. The Popular Mobilization Units as a group was formed in 2014 and have fought in nearly every major battle against ISIL. Many of its main militias, in particular the Shias, trace their origins to the "Special Groups", Iranian-sponsored shiite groups which previously fought an insurgency against the United States and the Coalition forces, as well as a sectarian conflict against Ba'athist and sunni jihadi insurgents. It has been called the new Iraqi Republican Guard after it was fully reorganized in early 2018 by its then–Commander in Chief Haider al-Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2018, who issued "regulations to adapt the situation of the Popular Mobilization fighters".
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, officially the 12th Brigade, is a radical Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary group that is especially active in Syria and Iraq. It was established in 2013 by Akram al-Kaabi to support Bashar al-Assad in Syria against Islamist rebels. The group is supported by the IRGC's Quds Force, which provides the funding, weapons, and training of its members.
2016–present clashes in West Iran refers to the ongoing military clashes between Kurdish insurgent party Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which began in April 2016. Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) and Komalah expressed their support to the Kurdish cause of PDKI as well, with both clashing with Iranian security forces in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In parallel, a leftist Iranian Kurdish rebel group PJAK resumed military activities against Iran in 2016, following a long period of stalemate.
The initialism SAD may refer to:
A series of demonstrations, marches, sit-ins and civil disobedience took place in Iraq from 2019 until 2021. It started on 1 October 2019, a date which was set by civil activists on social media, spreading mainly over the central and southern provinces of Iraq, to protest corruption, high unemployment, political sectarianism, inefficient public services and foreign interventionism. Protests spread quickly, coordinated over social media, to other provinces in Iraq. As the intensity of the demonstrations peaked in late October, protesters’ anger focused not only on the desire for a complete overhaul of the Iraqi government but also on driving out Iranian influence, including Iranian-aligned Shia militias. The government, with the help of Iranian-backed militias responded brutally, using live bullets, marksmen, hot water, hot pepper gas and tear gas against protesters, leading to many deaths and injuries.
A rocket attack was carried out on the K-1 Air Base in Kirkuk province in Iraq on 27 December 2019. The air base was one of many Iraqi military bases that host Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) personnel and, according to the coalition, was attacked by more than 30 rockets. The attack occurred during the 2019–2021 Persian Gulf crisis and preceded a series of events that eventually brought Iran and the United States to the brink of open conflict.
On 3 January 2020, Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was killed by an American drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, while travelling to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.
On 8 January 2020, in a military operation code named Operation Martyr Soleimani, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched over 12 ballistic missiles at the al-Asad Airbase in Al Anbar Governorate, western Iraq, as well as another airbase in Erbil, in response to the assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani by a United States drone strike.
The 2021 Erbil rocket attacks occurred when multiple rockets were launched against Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. On 15 February, approximately fourteen rockets were fired from an area south of the city at around 21:30 local time. Three of the rockets directly hit the U.S.-led coalition base near Erbil International Airport, while the other rockets hit residential areas and civilian facilities near the airport. Two people were killed in the attack, and an additional 13 were injured, including an American service member.
On February 25, 2021, the United States military carried out an airstrike on a site which it believed to have been occupied by Iranian-backed Iraqi militias operating from across the border in eastern Syria. The unilateral operation was in retaliation for multiple rocket attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq ten days prior and was the first known offensive military operation carried out under U.S. president Joe Biden.
The 2021 Baghdad clashes were a civil conflict between Iraqi protesters and Iraqi security forces following the 2021 Iraqi election. The protestors were supporters of Iran-backed militias and political parties. The clashes left two dead and more than 125 injured.
On 7 November 2021, the Iraqi Armed Forces reported that Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa Al-Kadhimi survived an assassination attempt that morning. An explosive-laden drone attacked his Baghdad residence while two were shot down. Several members of his security personnel were injured. No one has claimed responsibility, although the general consensus is that it was perpetrated by pro-Iran militias. The assassination attempt was probably connected to the pro-Iran militia supporters who caused the Baghdad clashes 2 days before.
The 2022 Erbil missile attacks occurred on 13 March 2022 when multiple ballistic missile were launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from East Azerbaijan province, Iran, against the city of Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella term for pro-Iran Shia Islamist insurgent groups in Iraq which has been described as a generic brand or network of ideologically similar groups backed by Iran rather than a group in itself.
Iraq 
Iran (alleged)
North Korea 
United States 
Turkey [5] 
Iraqi Kurdistan [6]