View source for Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada

{{Short description|Iraqi Shia militia}}
{{infobox war faction
| name             = Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada
| native_name      = كتائب سيد الشهداء
| native_name_lang = ar
| war              = 
| image            = [[File:Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada flag logo.jpeg|200px]]
| caption          = Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada flag and logo
| active           = 2013–present<ref name="KSS" />
| ideology         = [[Shia]] [[Islamism]]<br />[[Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists|Wilayat al Faqih]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alraimedia.com/Home/Details?Id=77461c79-a14c-4ad2-834d-80012df49570|title=قيادي في "الحشد الشعبي": نتبع ولاية الفقيه لا ساسة العراق|date=3 August 2016}}</ref><br>[[Khomeinism]]<br>[[Anti-Zionism]]
| leaders          = Abu Ala al-Walai<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2017/05/30/us-mulls-how-best-to-control-pro-iran-factions/2/|title=US mulls how best to Control pro-Iran Factions &#124; Iraq Business News - Part 2|date=30 May 2017}}</ref><br />[[Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani]]<ref name="group">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/irans-foreign-legion-the-role-of-iraqi-shiite-militias-in-syria|title=Iran's Foreign Legion: The Role of Iraqi Shiite Militias in Syria|date=23 June 2017|author=Michael Knights|publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy|access-date=4 December 2014}}</ref>
| clans            = *Liwa al-Sayyida Ruqayya (The Ja'afari Force)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aymennjawad.org/17718/liwa-al-sayyida-ruqayya-recruiting-the-shia|title = Liwa al-Sayyida Ruqayya: Recruiting the Shi'a of Damascus}}</ref>
| headquarters     = 
| area             = [[Saladin Governorate]], [[Iraq]]<ref name="stanford" /><br />[[Damascus Governorate]], [[Syria]]<ref name="KSS">{{cite web|url=http://www.trackingterrorism.org/group/kata%E2%80%99ib-sayyid-al-shuhada-kss|title=Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada |work=Tracking Terrorism|access-date=4 December 2014}}</ref><br />[[Daraa Governorate]]<ref name="KSS" />
| size             = 10,000 (December 2020)<ref name="group" />
| partof           = [[Popular Mobilization Forces]]<br>[[Islamic Resistance in Iraq (2020–present)|Islamic Resistance in Iraq]] (since 2020)
| predecessor      = [[Sheibani Network]]<ref name="washins">{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PF138Appendices/PF138_Appendix_2.pdf |title=The Shiite Jihad in Syria and Its Regional Effects APPENDIX 2 Understanding the Organizations Deployed to Syria |publisher=Washington Institute for Near East Policy |date=February 2015 |access-date=30 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325074712/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PF138Appendices/PF138_Appendix_2.pdf |archive-date=March 25, 2016}}</ref>
| successor        = 
| allegiance       = {{IRQ}}
| allies           = '''State allies'''
* {{IRN}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/world/middleeast/russia-makes-an-impact-in-syrian-battle-for-control-of-aleppo.html|title = Russia Makes an Impact in Syrian Battle for Control of Aleppo|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 21 October 2015|last1 = Fahim|first1 = Kareem|last2 = Barnard|first2 = Anne}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|Syria|1980}} [[Ba'athist Syria]] (until 2024)
** {{flagicon image|Single Color Flag - 000000.svg}} [[National Defense Force (Syria)|National Defense Force]]
* {{RUS}}
* {{PRK}}
'''Non-state allies'''
* {{flag|Hezbollah}}<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://ctc.usma.edu/hizb-allahs-gambit-in-syria/|title = Hizb Allah's Gambit in Syria|date = 27 August 2013|access-date = 29 July 2018|archive-date = 20 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210820103104/https://ctc.usma.edu/hizb-allahs-gambit-in-syria/|url-status = dead}}</ref>
* [[File:Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas SSI.svg|22px|border]] [[Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas]]<ref name="KSS" />
* [[Kata'ib Hezbollah]]<ref name="stanford" />
* [[Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq]]<ref name="stanford" />
* [[Badr Organization]]<ref name="stanford" />
| opponents        = *{{flagdeco|Syrian opposition}} [[Free Syrian Army]]<ref name="stanford">{{Cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/629|title = MMP: Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada}}</ref>
* {{flagicon image|Logo of the Islamic Front (Syria).svg|size=22px}} [[Islamic Front (Syria)|Islamic Front]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Al-Nusra Front.svg|size=25px}} [[Al-Nusra Front]]<ref name="stanford" />
* {{flag|Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|size=23px}}
* [[Tahrir al-Sham]]<ref name="stanford" />
* {{USA}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dijlah.tv/index.php?page=article&id=198280|title=الحشد يعلق على القصف الأمريكي ضد كتائب سيد الشهداء غرب الأنبار .. ويتوعد بالرد|website=قناة دجلة الفضائية}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|Kurdistan}} [[Peshmerga]]
| battles          = {{tree list}}
* [[Syrian Civil War]]
** [[Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin]]<ref name="sheikh" />
* [[War in Iraq (2013–2017)]]
** [[Salahuddin campaign]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/02/iranian-backed-militia-seen-with-us-tank-in-iraq.php|title=Iranian-backed militia seen with US tank in Iraq &#124; FDD's Long War Journal|website=www.longwarjournal.org}}</ref>
** [[Second Battle of Tikrit]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense-news/blog/intercepts/2015/03/02/iraq-iran-is-war-terrorism/24270363/|title=Shiite militias, Iraqi forces surround Tikrit|date=10 March 2015|access-date=6 May 2016}}</ref>
{{tree list/end}}
| website          = {{official website|saidshuhada.com}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Syrian uprising}}

The '''Master of Martyrs Battalion''', better known as '''Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada'''' ('''KSS'''; {{langx|ar|كتائب سيد الشهداء}}, Battalion of the [[Husayn ibn Ali|Master of Martyrs]]) and officially the '''14th Brigade,''' is a radical [[Iraqi people|Iraqi]] [[Shiite]] paramilitary group formed in 2013. Its stated mission is to protect "(Shia) shrines across the globe", preserve "[[Iraqi people|Iraqi]] unity" and to "put an end to the sectarian conflict". KSS is funded, trained and equipped by [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]]'s [[Quds Force]] and [[Hezbollah]].

The group has been described as an [[Iran]]ian proxy, and is one of the original militias that formed the [[Popular Mobilization Forces]] in 2014. The group has close ties to [[Badr Organization]] and the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|IRGC]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jihadology.net/2013/09/09/hizballah-cavalcade-kataib-sayyid-al-shuhada-emerges-updates-on-the-new-iraqi-shia-militia-supplying-fighters-to-syria/ |title=Hizballah Cavalcade: Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada Emerges: Updates on the New Iraqi Shia Militia Supplying Fighters to Syria|access-date=10 March 2015}}</ref>

KSS is also active in [[Syria]], where its main focus is the protection of the [[Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque]] in a southern suburb of [[Damascus]]. It militarily supports the Syrian government and participates in the [[Syrian civil war|Syrian Civil War]].<ref name="KSS" /> It notably engaged in the [[Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin (2014)|Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin]] where it fought alongside Syrian government forces.<ref name="sheikh">{{cite web|url=http://iswsyria.blogspot.nl/2014/12/syria-update-november-25-december-02.html|title=Syria Update: November 25 – December 02, 2014|publisher=Institute for the Study of War|access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref>

On November 17, 2023, KSS and its leader [[Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji]] (also known as Abu Ala al-Walai) were declared [[Specially Designated Global Terrorist]]s (SDGT) under the counterterrorism authority [[Executive Order 13224]] by the [[United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knights |first=Michael |title=Profile: Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/profile-kataib-sayyid-al-shuhada |website=The Washington Institute}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 17, 2023 |title=Counter Terrorism Designations |url=https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20231117 |website=Office of Foreign Assets Control}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 17, 2023 |title=Terrorist Designations of Iran-aligned Militia Groups |url=https://www.state.gov/terrorist-designations-of-iran-aligned-militia-groups/ |website=state.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 17, 2023 |title=U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iran-Aligned Militias in Iraq |url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1921 |website=U.S. Department of the Treasury}}</ref> Additionally, al-Saraji was placed on [[Office of Foreign Assets Control]]'s [[Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List|Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji - Sanctions List Search (OFAC) |url=https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=46351 |website=sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Shia Islam|Iraq|Asia}}
* [[List of armed groups in the War in Iraq]]
* [[List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War]]
* [[Popular Mobilization Forces]]
* [[Holy Shrine Defender]]
* [[Private militias in Iraq]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|saidshuhada.com}}

{{Popular Mobilization Forces}}
{{Armed groups in the Iraq conflict}}
{{Syrian Civil War}}
{{Militant Islamism}}

[[Category:Anti-ISIL factions in Iraq]]
[[Category:Anti-ISIL factions in Syria]]
[[Category:Anti-Israeli sentiment in Asia]]
[[Category:Iraqi involvement in the Syrian civil war]]
[[Category:Factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces]]
[[Category:Pro-government factions of the Syrian civil war]]
[[Category:Khomeinist groups]]
[[Category:Paramilitary organizations based in Iraq]]
[[Category:Islamism in Iraq]]
[[Category:2013 establishments in Iraq]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 2013]]
[[Category:Jihadist groups in Iraq]]
[[Category:Jihadist groups in Syria]]
[[Category:Anti-Zionism in Iraq]]
[[Category:Anti-Americanism]]
[[Category:Arab militant groups]]


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