View source for Liwa Zainebiyoun

{{Short description|Shia militia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{infobox war faction
| name             = Liwa Zainebiyoun<br />{{small|{{nastaliq|لواء زينبیون|fa}}}}
| war              = 
| image            = [[File:Liwa Zainebiyoun.jpg|200px]]
| caption          = 
| active           = late 2014 – present<ref name=iraqeye/>
| ideology         = *[[Shia Islamism]]
*[[Shia]] [[Jihad]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fardanews.com/fa/news/498191/%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%B1-%DB%B6-%D8%B4%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B9-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%85-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%82%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B4%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%B9-%D8%B4%D8%AF|title=The Zainabiyoun Brigade|author= |date=3 March 2016|publisher=Farda News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/news/494084/%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%B1-%DB%B5-%D8%B4%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B9-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%85-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%82%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B4%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%B9-%D8%B4%D8%AF|title=پیکر ۵ شهید مدافع حرم در قم تشییع شد|first=سایت خبری تحلیلی تابناك&#124;اخبار ایران و|last=جهان&#124;TABNAK|publisher=}}</ref>
*[[Political thought and legacy of Ruhollah Khomeini|Khomeinism]]
*[[Antisemitism]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Julius|first=Anthony|author-link=Anthony Julius|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGkSLxDBNTgC&pg=PA529|title=Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England|via=[[Google Books]]|date=1 May 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/Alfoneh/status/1102682289534849030 "Foreign Shiite combat fatalities in Syria and nationality since January 19, 2012."] Ali Alfoneh. Twitter. 4 March 2019.</ref><ref name="auto"/>
*[[Anti-Zionism]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Julius|first=Anthony|author-link=Anthony Julius|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGkSLxDBNTgC&pg=PA529|title=Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England|via=[[Google Books]]|date=1 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Michael|first1=Robert|first2=Philip|last2=Rosen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5927rY-UgoC&pg=PA231|title=Dictionary of Antisemitism from the Earliest Times to the Present|via=Google Books|date=1 May 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/Alfoneh/status/1102682289534849030 "Foreign Shiite combat fatalities in Syria and nationality since January 19, 2012."] Ali Alfoneh. Twitter. 4 March 2019.</ref><ref name="auto"/>
| founder          = 
| groups           = 
| headquarters     = 
| allegiance       = *{{flag|Iran}} ([[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]]*{{flag|Pakistan}}
| area             = *{{flagicon|Syria}} [[Syria]]<ref name=iraqeye /><ref name="OSINT">{{cite web|url=https://theosintblog.com/2016/04/28/meet-the-zainebiyoun-brigade-an-iranian-backed-pakistani-shia-militia-fighting-in-syria/|title=Meet the Zainebiyoun Brigade: An Iranian Backed Pakistani Shia Militia Fighting in Syria|accessdate=28 April 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502213753/https://theosintblog.com/2016/04/28/meet-the-zainebiyoun-brigade-an-iranian-backed-pakistani-shia-militia-fighting-in-syria/|archivedate=2 May 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Farhan Zahid"/><ref name="KONFLICTCAM">{{cite web|url=http://www.konflictcam.com/photo-report/48/funeral-service-for-seven-pakistani-militants-killed-in-syria-qom-iran-apr-2015|title=Funeral Service for Seven Pakistani Militants Killed in Syria; Qom, Iran, Apr 2015|work=Konflictcam}}</ref><ref name="recruits">{{cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1007694/iran-recruits-pakistani-shias-for-combat-in-syria/|title=Iran recruits Pakistani Shias for combat in Syria|author=|date=11 December 2015|publisher=The Express Tribune}}</ref><ref name="radio free">{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/a/persian-letters-afghans-pakistanis-killed-fighting-in-syria-for-iran/26977907.html|title=Increasing Number Of Afghans, Pakistanis Killed In Syria Buried In Iran|publisher=}}</ref>
*{{flag|Yemen}}<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iran-boosting-yemeni-houthis-with-syrian-fighters-local-sources/2233092|title=Iran boosting Yemeni Houthis with Syrian fighters: Local sources|first1=Mohamad|last1=Misto|first2=Ethem|last2=Emre Özcan|website=Anadolu Agency|access-date=8 May 2021}}</ref>
*{{flag|India}} <small>(active in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]])</small><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 July 2019|title=Kashmir – The New Battlefield For Saudi-Iran Proxy War – Israel Media Reports|url=https://eurasiantimes.com/kashmir-the-new-battlefield-for-saudi-iran-proxy-war-israel-media-reports/|archive-date=22 July 2019|access-date=29 August 2021}}</ref>
| flag             = 
| size             = {{circa}} 15,000+ (2022)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pakistan.asia-news.com/ur/articles/cnmi_pf/features/2018/10/05/feature-02|title=ایران کی زینبیون برگیڈ نے پاکستان میں بھرتی تیز کر دی|url-status=live}}</ref>
| partof           = [[Axis of Resistance]]<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Lebanon/97%20Drums%20of%20War%20-%20Israel%20and%20the%20Axis%20of%20Resistance.pdf|title=Drums Of War: Israel And The "AXIS OF RESISTANCE"|publisher=International Crisis Group|date=2 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111425/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Iraq%20Syria%20Lebanon/Lebanon/97%20Drums%20of%20War%20-%20Israel%20and%20the%20Axis%20of%20Resistance.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/after-isis-fatemiyoun-vows-fight-axis-resistance-destroy-israel|title=After ISIS, Fatemiyoun Vows to Fight with "Axis of Resistance" to Destroy Israel|website=Middle East Institute|access-date=2020-07-23|archive-date=2020-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716012136/https://www.mei.edu/publications/after-isis-fatemiyoun-vows-fight-axis-resistance-destroy-israel|url-status=live}}</ref>
| predecessor      = 
| leaders          = 
| successor        = 
| allies           = '''State allies'''<br/>
*{{flagicon|Syria}} [[Syria]]
*{{flagicon|Iran}}[[Iran]] 
*{{flagdeco|IRQ}} [[Private militias in Iraq|Iraqi Shia private militias]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/after-isis-fatemiyoun-vows-fight-axis-resistance-destroy-israel|title=After ISIS, Fatemiyoun Vows to Fight with "Axis of Resistance" to Destroy Israel|website=Middle East Institute|access-date=2020-07-23|archive-date=2020-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716012136/https://www.mei.edu/publications/after-isis-fatemiyoun-vows-fight-axis-resistance-destroy-israel|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flag|Yemen}} ([[Supreme Political Council]])
*{{flag|Russia}}<ref name="spiegeltruth">Christoph Reuter. [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/american-fury-the-truth-about-the-russian-deaths-in-syria-a-1196074.html American Fury: The Truth About the Russian Deaths in Syria: Hundreds of Russian soldiers are alleged to have died in U.S. airstrikes at the beginning of February. Reporting by DER SPIEGEL shows that events were likely very different.] ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', 2 March 2018.</ref>
'''Non-State allies'''<br/>
*{{flagicon|Syria}} [[National Defence Forces]]<ref name="iranian-strategy">Will Fulton, Joseph Holliday, and Sam Wyer, [http://www.understandingwar.org/report/iranian-strategy-syria ''Iranian Strategy in Syria''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201135117/http://www.understandingwar.org/report/iranian-strategy-syria |date=2016-02-01 }}, [[Institute for the Study of War]], May 2013</ref>
*[[Liwa Fatemiyoun]]
*{{flagicon image|IRGC-Seal.svg}} [[Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps]]
*{{flag|Hezbollah|size=22px}}
*{{flagicon image|Houthis Logo.png}} [[Houthis]]
| opponents        = '''State opponents'''<br/>
*{{flag|United States}}<ref name="spiegeltruth"/>
*{{ISR}}<ref name="auto"/>
*{{flag|Yemen}} (Hadi government)
*{{flag|India}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 July 2019|title=Kashmir – The New Battlefield For Saudi-Iran Proxy War – Israel Media Reports|url=https://eurasiantimes.com/kashmir-the-new-battlefield-for-saudi-iran-proxy-war-israel-media-reports/|archive-date=22 July 2019|access-date=29 August 2021}}</ref>
*{{flag|Saudi Arabia}}<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://magazine.zenith.me/en/politics/pakistan-iran-and-saudi-arabia|title="Why Pakistan holds a key in the Iranian-Saudi confrontation"|last=Wigger|first=Leo|date=2019-09-26|website=magazine.zenith.me|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-10-01}}</ref>
'''Non-State opponents'''<br/>
* {{flagicon image|WataniaTahrirFlag.png}} [[National Front for Liberation]]
*{{flagicon image|Syria-flag 1932-58 1961-63.svg}} [[Free Syrian Army]]
*{{flagicon image|Syria-flag 1932-58 1961-63.svg}} [[Syrian National Army]]<ref name="WhoAreSNA">{{cite web|first=Sirwan|last=Kajjo|publisher=[[Voice of America]]|title=Who are the Turkey backed Syrian Rebels?|url=http://www.voanews.com/a/backed-turkey-syrian-rebels-take-fight-islamic-state-kurds/3481582.html|date=25 August 2016|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219172433/http://www.voanews.com/a/backed-turkey-syrian-rebels-take-fight-islamic-state-kurds/3481582.html|archive-date=19 February 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic Front (Syria).svg}} [[Islamic Front (Syria)|Islamic Front]]
*{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Al-Nusra Front.svg}} [[al-Nusra Front]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.svg}} [[Tahrir al-Sham]]
*{{flagicon image|AQMI_Flag.svg}} [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]]
*[[File:Flag of Ahrar ash-Sham.svg|25px]] [[Ahrar al-Sham]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svg}} [[Syrian Democratic Forces]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.svg}} [[Lashkar-e-Jhangvi]]<ref name="blast">{{cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/1009233/four-dead-several-wounded-in-parachinar-blast|title=At least 23 killed, 30 injured in Parachinar blast|author=Mehdi Hussain|date=13 December 2015|work=The Express Tribune}}</ref>
| status           = Active
| battles          = [[Syrian civil war]]<br />[[Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)|Yemeni Civil War]]<ref name="auto1"/><br />[[Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 July 2019|title=Kashmir – The New Battlefield For Saudi-Iran Proxy War – Israel Media Reports|url=https://eurasiantimes.com/kashmir-the-new-battlefield-for-saudi-iran-proxy-war-israel-media-reports/|archive-date=22 July 2019|access-date=29 August 2021}}</ref>

*[[Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016)]]
*[[Aleppo offensive (October–November 2016)]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/10/irgc-commander-killed-on-eve-of-aleppo-battle.php|title=IRGC commander killed on eve of Aleppo battle &#124; FDD's Long War Journal|first=Motorhead|last=Says|date=28 October 2016|website=www.longwarjournal.org}}</ref>
*[[Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/12/array-of-pro-syrian-government-forces-advance-in-aleppo.php|title=Array of pro-Syrian government forces advances in Aleppo &#124; FDD's Long War Journal|date=9 December 2016|website=www.longwarjournal.org}}</ref>
*[[Siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–2017)|Siege of Deir ez-Zor]]
*[[Hama offensive (March–April 2017)]]
*[[Palmyra offensive (2017)]] 
*[[Battle of Khasham]]<ref name="spiegeltruth"/>
*[[Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020)]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/02/irgc-trained-militias-suffer-losses-in-northwest-syria.php |title=IRGC trained militias suffer losses in northwest Syria |work=Long War Journal |first=Joe |last=Truzman |date=14 February 2020 |accessdate=26 August 2021 }}</ref>
}}

The '''Followers of Zainab Brigade''' ({{lang-ar|لِوَاء الزَّيْنَبِيُون|Liwā’ az-Zaynabīyūn}}, [[Persian language|Persian]]/[[Dari Persian|Dari]]: {{lang|fa|لواء زينبیون}} or {{lang|fa|لشکر زينبیون}}, ''Liwa Zainebiyoun'' or ''Liwa Zainabiyoon'', {{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|لواء زینبیون}}}}), literally '''Zainebiyoun Brigade''', also known as '''Zainebiyoun Division''', is a pro-government militia fighting in Syria composed of [[Shia Islam in Pakistan|Shia Pakistanis]].<ref name="Jihad">{{cite web|url=http://jihadintel.meforum.org/group/184/liwa-zainebiyoun|title=Liwa Zainebiyoun|publisher=}}</ref><ref name="OSINT" /> It draws recruits mainly from Shia [[Pakistanis in Iran|Pakistanis living in Iran]],<ref name="OSINT"/> ethnic [[Hazaras]] in Pakistan<ref name="WOTR"/> and native Shia of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref name=iraqeye /> 

It was formed and trained by the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps|Iranian Revolutionary Guards]] and operates under their command.<ref name="OSINT"/> Initially tasked with defending the [[Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque]],<ref name="Farhan Zahid"/><ref name="KONFLICTCAM"/> it has since entered frontlines across Syria.<ref name=iraqeye /> Its dead are buried primarily in Iran.<ref name="OSINT" /><ref name="KONFLICTCAM" /> Approximately 158 of their fighters have died in Syria as of March 2019, excluding those killed in [[Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents during the Syrian Civil War|Israeli airstrikes.]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/Alfoneh/status/1102682289534849030 "Foreign Shiite combat fatalities in Syria and nationality since January 19, 2012."] Ali Alfoneh. Twitter. 4 March 2019.</ref> According to recent estimations, the total number of Pakistani fighters on the brigade hardly exceeds 800.<ref name="auto"/>

==History==
Pakistanis have been fighting in Syria since 2013.<ref name="Farhan Zahid"/> They originally fought in the Afghan [[Liwa Fatemiyoun]], and only became numerous enough to warrant a distinct brigade in early 2015.<ref name=iraqeye>{{cite web|url=https://iraqeye.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/liwa-zainebiyoun-syrias-pakistani-fighters/|title=Liwa Zainebiyoun:  Syria’s Pakistani Fighters|work=iraqeye}}</ref> Some of the fighters are [[Hazaras|Hazara]]<ref name="WOTR">{{cite news|url=https://warontherocks.com/2021/07/irans-tricky-balancing-act-in-afghanistan/|title=Iran's Tricky Balancing Act in Afghanistan|work=War on the Rocks|date=28 July 2021|accessdate=29 April 2022|first=Candance|last=Rondeaux|first2=Amir|last2=Toumaj|first3=Arif|last3=Ammar|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322050754/https://warontherocks.com/2021/07/irans-tricky-balancing-act-in-afghanistan/|archivedate=22 March 2022|url-status=live|quote=It also established the Fatemiyoun's Pakistani sister unit, the Zeynabiyoun Brigade. Thousands of ethnic Afghan and Pakistani Hazara foreign fighters fought and died with those units to help save the Assad regime.}}</ref> and [[Baloch people|Baloch]]<ref name="Jamestown">{{Cite web|url=https://jamestown.org/program/the-zainabiyoun-brigade-a-pakistani-shiite-militia-amid-the-syrian-conflict/|title=The Zainabiyoun Brigade: A Pakistani Shiite Militia Amid the Syrian Conflict|website=Jamestown}}</ref> while others are [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] (mainly from [[Parachinar]]),<ref name="auto"/> [[Punjabis|Punjabi]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.samaaenglish.tv/latest-news/2019/05/missing-men-and-the-neighbouring-country-that-cannot-be-named/|title=Missing men and the neighbouring country that cannot be named|work=Samaa News|date=15 May 2019|accessdate=29 April 2022|first=Roohan|last=Ahmed|quote=According to Aamir Rana, a security analyst and the director of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, scores of Pakistani Shias have been to Syria. “Many were arrested from Punjab and Parachinaar after they returned to Pakistan,” Rana said.}}</ref> or from [[Gilgit-Baltistan]]<ref name="HT">{{cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan-reluctant-to-take-back-fighters-captured-in-syria-101627637531141.html|title=Pakistan reluctant to take back fighters captured in Syria|work=Hindustan Times|date=30 July 2021|accessdate=29 April 2022}}</ref> and [[Karachi]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1341033|title=CTD seeks ban on 25 websites spreading ‘terrorism, extremism’|work=Dawn|date=22 June 2017|accessdate=29 April 2022|first=Imtiaz|last=Ali|quote=Meanwhile, SSP CTD Omer Shahid Hamid told Dawn that many people from Pakistan, including Karachi, had gone to fight in Syria belonging to both Sunni and Shia communities.}}</ref> Like other Shia foreign brigades in Syria, it is funded, trained, and overseen by the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps|Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps]].<ref name="recruits"/><ref name="radio free"/> 

Its official purpose is to defend the [[Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque]] (the shrine of [[Zaynab bint Ali]], sister of [[Imam Hussain]] and granddaughter of the prophet [[Muhammad]]) and other Shia holy sites in Syria.<ref name="Farhan Zahid">{{cite web|url=http://www.jamestown.org/programs/tm/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=45479&cHash=b1fd0cdae422cab2030811f564ed606a#.V6nKM1t961t|title=The Zainabiyoun Brigade: A Pakistani Shiite Militia Amid the Syrian Conflict|author= Farhan Zahid|date=27 May 2016|work=Terrorism Monitor Volume}}</ref> It operates primarily in [[Damascus]] defending these holy sites. However, since 2015, it has also engaged in offensive action around [[Daraa]]<ref name="OSINT"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.memri.org/report/en/print8549.htm|title=Iran Tightens Its Grip On Syria Using Syrian And Foreign Forces|author=|date=5 May 2015|work=MEMRI}}</ref> and [[Aleppo]], along with other foreign Shia fighters.<ref name=iraqeye/>

On 9 April 2015, seven fighters were killed defending the Imam Hasan Mosque in Damascus and were buried in [[Qom]], Iran.<ref name="Farhan Zahid"/> In March 2016, six fighters were killed defending the [[Imam Reza shrine]], also buried in Qom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fardanews.com/fa/news/498191/%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%B1-%DB%B6-%D8%B4%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B9-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%85-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%82%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B4%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%B9-%D8%B4%D8%AF|title=The Zainabiyoun Brigade|author= |date=3 March 2016|publisher=Farda News}}</ref> On 23 April, five more fighters were killed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tabnak.ir/fa/news/494084/%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%B1-%DB%B5-%D8%B4%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B9-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%85-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%82%D9%85-%D8%AA%D8%B4%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%B9-%D8%B4%D8%AF|title=پیکر ۵ شهید مدافع حرم در قم تشییع شد|first=سایت خبری تحلیلی تابناك&#124;اخبار ایران و|last=جهان&#124;TABNAK|publisher=}}</ref> An estimated 69 fighters were killed between November 2014 and March 2016.<ref name=iraqeye />

In early 2018 the group was involved in the [[Battle of Khasham]] against US special forces and the US-backed [[Syrian Democratic Forces]].<ref name="spiegeltruth"/>

==Reaction in Pakistan==
In December 2015, a [[2015 Parachinar bombing|bomb killed 25 and injured over 30]] in Parachinar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Terrorist group [[Lashkar-e-Jhangvi]] claimed responsibility, and said that it was "revenge for the crimes against Syrian Muslims by Iran and Bashar al-Assad" and threatened to continue terror attacks if Parachinar citizens did not "stop sending people to take part in Syrian war".<ref name="blast"/>

The [[government of Pakistan]] officially denies the presence of Pakistani fighters in Syria, and has been reluctant to take back members of the brigade caught in Syria.<ref name="HT"/>

==See also==
*[[Foreign fighters in the Syrian civil war]]
{{Portal|Shia Islam|Asia|War}}
*[[Liwa Fatemiyoun]]
*[[List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War]]
*[[Holy Shrine Defender]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Syrian Civil War}}
{{Militant Islamism}}
{{Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps}}

[[Category:Axis of Resistance]]
[[Category:Entities related to Iran Sanctions]]
[[Category:Iran–Pakistan relations]]
[[Category:Jihadist groups in Syria]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 2015]]
[[Category:Pakistan–Syria relations]]
[[Category:Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war]]
[[Category:Shia Islam in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Shia Islamist groups]]