24.05.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Shia Militia Takes on the Insurgents ("original document (English)") [ID 10633]

"Leading Shia politicians in Iraq have justified the increasing engagement of the powerful Badr militia in the war against insurgents, as prominent Sunnis look on in alarm.

Mainly active in Shia-dominated southern Iraq, the Badr Organisation, formerly known as the Badr Brigade, is the military arm of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, SCIRI, one of the two main Shia parties that make up the United Iraqi Alliance.

Sunnis, feeling isolated since the Shia-controlled United Iraqi Alliance won the elections, are nervous and unhappy about the organisation’s mounting influence. Sheikh Harith al-Dhary , who heads the Muslim Scholars' Association, last week went so far as to accuse the Badr Organisation of being involved in the murder of Sunni cleric Sheikh Hasan al-Naimi, found dead on May 17. Al-Dhary said there were Badr members in the ranks of the interior ministry’s Dhib (Wolf) Brigade, a crack unit set up to fight the insurgents which he blamed for al-Naimy’s death. However, Brigadier-General Abul al-Waleed of the Wolf brigade, insists the militia is quite separate from his commandos.

“The Badr Organisation has not supported us in our assaults on militant strongholds,” he said. “Our duties are independent of any party or organisation. And we don’t interfere in Badr's affairs.” The Badr Organisation has also rejected the charges, and accused the Muslim Scholars Association of trying to foment a civil war. Shia and Sunni religious figures are increasingly being targeted in Iraq. On the same day al-Naimi’s body was found, two Shia clerics were shot, including SCIRI member Mani Hassan. Badr secretary general and leading SCIRI figure Hadi al-Amiri said Iraq should make use of any available resources to protect itself from such attacks. “We must invest in the Badr men to defend the soil of Iraq,” he said. “They must join the security apparatus in working to achieve security in the country.”

Sheikh Humam Hamoodi, a prominent SCIRI figure, insists the Badr militia still has a role to play because insurgents have infiltrated both the Iraqi National Guard and police. “The Badr Organisation must participate in peacekeeping in the country, because they were the first to stand up against Saddam and resist the Baathists,” he said. “They have experience in tension-filled areas and in armed struggle. So they must be respected.” SCIRI was established in Iran in 1982 and received funding from Tehran for years, leading to accusations that the Badr Organisation is a puppet of the Iranians. Hussein al-Shahristani, a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, insists that despite links with Iran, Iraqi Shias –and their militia forces – do act independently.

“The [election] victory of the Shia list does not indicate Iranian interference in the policy of Iraq,” he said. “The people must be assured that the Iraqi government will not accept any interference from Iran.” Emad Hasan al-Sharaa is an IWPR trainee in Iraq."

Document(s): original document (English)

19.05.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Sunni clerics accuse Shia militia of attacks ("original document (English)") [ID 10634]

"(Asharq Al-Awsat) In a worrying indication of sectarianism, the head of the Sunni Scholars Association, Harith al-Dhari, has accused the Badr Brigade, the militia affiliated to the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), of killing imams and preachers of Sunni mosques. He blamed the Badr Brigade and "those who stand behind it" (meaning Iran) for the escalation of tension in the country. This is the first time al-Dhari has openly accused the Badr militia. His organisation have called for Sunni mosques to close for three days in protest at the killings it says the Badr forces are responsible for. A senior official in the Badr brigade, Hadi al-Amiri has denied the accusations. The head of the Sunni Endowment, Adnan al-Dulaimi, has asked the government to safeguard Sunni mosques.
(London-based Asharq al-Awsat, a pro-Saudi independent paper, is issued daily.)"

Document(s): original document (English)

20.08.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Najaf : U.S. FORCES RAID SCIRI, BADR HEADQUARTERS ("original document") [ID 10635]

"U.S. FORCES RAID SCIRI, BADR HEADQUARTERS. U.S. forces in Al-Najaf raided on 17 August the headquarters for the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the organization's Badr Brigades office in the holy city, Al-Jazeera reported. Two Badr guards were killed in one of the raids, according to a statement by al-Haj Hasan Abu Ali, who heads the Badr organization in the city. The reason behind the raid is not known. Meanwhile, Baghdad's "Al-Ittihad" reported on 17 August that police and multinational forces arrested the secretary-general of Hizballah in a recent raid on the organization's office in Baghdad. Hasan al-Sari was arrested along with two of his colleagues, Hashim al-Shawki and Ruhan al-Jabiri. Al-Sari served as a member of the Iraqi National Conference's Preparatory Committee."

Document(s): original document

04.06.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Survey of armed groups in Iraq: Faylaq Badr / Badr Corps ("original document") [ID 10637]

"Faylaq Badr (Badr Corps). The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI)'s armed wing. Hadi al-Amiri is the Faylaq Badr's secretary-general. The corps was reportedly founded in 1983, just one year after Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim established SCIRI. The corps was organized into units that included an infantry, armored, artillery, antiaircraft, and commando units, according to the SCIRI website (http://www.sciri.btinternet.co.uk). SCIRI, supported and funded by Iran, used former Iraqi military officers and commanders to train its fighters and claimed to have some 10,000 militiamen inside Iraq on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) ordered all militias, except for the Kurdish peshmerga, to disband in spring 2003, but the militia remains armed by all accounts. SCIRI head and Iraqi Governing Council member Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, who took over the leadership following al-Hakim's assassination in August 2003, said that the Faylaq Badr would disarm and change its focus (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 21 September 2003). However, al-Hakim insisted that Badr could play a contributing role to the security of Iraq in November (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 20 November 2003). Media reports have since indicated that the Faylaq Badr is actively working with the Iraqi Interior Ministry to "track down terrorist elements" attempting to enter the country (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 27 March 2004). Meanwhile, U.S. military and civilian leaders in Iraq continue to call for the group to disband and join the regular Iraqi army (see "RFE/RL Iraq Report," 13 March 20004)."

Document(s): original document