Wikipedia

Badr Organization

(Redirected from Badr Brigades)

The Badr Organization (Arabic: منظمة بدر Munaẓẓama Badr), previously known as the Badr Brigades or Badr Corps, is an Iraqi Shia Islamist and Khomeinist[3] 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[14] 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.[15] It is a part of the Popular Mobilization Forces.

Badr Organization
منظمة بدر
LeaderHadi al-Amiri
Supreme LeaderMojtaba Khamenei[1]
Allegiance Iran[1]
Founded1982 (1982) as the military wing of the ISCI
2003–present as a political movement
IdeologyShia Islamism[2]
Khomeinism[3]
Wilayat al-Faqih[4]
Anti-Sunnism[5]
Political positionRight-wing[6]
ReligionShia Islam
National affiliationNational Iraqi Alliance[7] (2005–2014)
State of Law Coalition (2014–18)[8][9][10]
Fatah Alliance (2018–2025)
International affiliationAxis of Resistance
Seats in the Council of Representatives of Iraq:
18 / 329
Badr Organization
Leaders
Hadi al-Amiri
Mojtaba Khamenei[1]
Dates active1982–2003 (officially)
2014–present
Allegiance Iran (IRGC)[1][3]
GroupStructure
HeadquartersNajaf, Iraq
Active regionsBaghdad and Southern Iraq
Size15,000 (2008)[11]
10,000–15,000 (2014)[12]
Part ofIran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (originally)[13]
Popular Mobilization Forces (2014–present)
WarsIraq War, Iraqi Civil War

History

edit

SCIRI

edit

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 the government of Saddam Hussein, focusing on the Shia holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.[16] They retreated into Iran after the uprising was brutally crushed by the Ba'athist regime.

In 1995, during the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War, Iran deployed 5,000 Badr fighters to Iraqi Kurdistan to support the PUK forces.[17]

Post-invasion Iraq

edit

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[18] and sectarian killings during the Iraqi Civil War.[19]

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.[19] According to a 2006 report by the Independent newspaper:

"Mr Pace said the Ministry of the Interior was 'acting as a rogue element within the government'. It was controlled by the main Shia party, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI); the Interior Minister, Baqir Jabr al-Zubeidi, is a former leader of SCIRI's Badr Brigade militia, which was one of the main groups accused of carrying out sectarian killings. Another was the Mahdi Army of the young cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who is now part of the Shia coalition seeking to form a government after winning the mid-December election.

Many of the 110,000 policemen and police commandos under the ministry's control are suspected of being former members of the Badr Brigade. Not only counterinsurgency units such as the Wolf Brigade, the Scorpions, and the Tigers, but the commandos and even the highway patrol police were accused of acting as death squads during this period over a decade ago.

The paramilitary commandos, dressed in garish camouflage uniforms and driving around in pick-up trucks, were dreaded in Sunni neighbourhoods. People arrested by them during this period were frequently found dead several days later with their bodies bearing obvious marks of torture."[19]

Military action against ISIL

edit
Badr Organization soldiers before the Battle of Tal Afar

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.[12] 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.[20] A leaked US diplomatic cable cited sources alleging that Hadi al-Amiri had personally ordered attacks on Sunnis.[5]

2026 Iran war

edit

Following the assassination of Ali Khamenei during the 2026 Iran war, Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri pledged allegiance to the new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei.[1]

Structure

edit

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).

Scientific evaluation

edit

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.[25]

Election results

edit
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
Jan 2005 Hadi Al-Amiri As part of UIA
140 / 275
 New Increase 1st Coalition
Dec 2005 As part of UIA
36 / 275
 N/a N/a Coalition
2010 As part of NIA
39 / 325
 Increase 3 N/a Coalition
2014 As part of State of Law
8 / 328
 Decrease 31 N/a Coalition
2018 As part of Fatah
22 / 329
 Increase 14 N/a Coalition
2021 As part of Fatah
17 / 329
 Decrease 5 N/a Coalition
2025 556,850 4.96%
18 / 329
 Increase 1 Increase 6th Coalition

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Kurdistan24 (2026-03-09). "Senior Iraqi Shia Leaders Pledge Allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei, Affirm Support for Iran's New Leadership". Senior Iraqi Shia Leaders Pledge Allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei, Affirm Support for Iran’s New Leadership. Retrieved 2026-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Dominic Evans (30 November 2014). "Iraq's divisions will delay counter-offensive on Islamic State". Reuters. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Steinberg, Guido (July 2017). "The Badr Organization" (PDF). German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
  4. ↑ "UNHCR Web Archive". webarchive.archive.unhcr.org. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  5. 1 2 Dagres, Holly (2018-08-16). "Badr Brigade: Among Most Consequential Outcomes of the Iran-Iraq War". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
  6. ↑ "The Popular Mobilization Forces and Iraq's Future". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  7. ↑ "National Alliance deadlocked over candidates for Interior Ministry". Asharq Al-Awsat. 16 September 2014. Archived from the original on 17 September 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "اسماء الفائزين من منطمة بدر في البرلمان المقبل". Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  9. ↑ "90% من مرشحي منظمة بدر يفوزون بالانتخابات محققين 22 مقعدا". Archived from the original on 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  10. ↑ "قيادي في بدر: نعمل على تشكيل تحالف جديد بعد انفصالنا عن دولة القانون". Archived from the original on 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  11. ↑ Dralonge, Richard (2008). Economics and Geopolitics of the Middle East. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. p. 61. ISBN 9781604560763.
  12. 1 2 "Breaking Badr". Foreign Policy. 6 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Steinberg, Guido (July 2017). "The Badr Organization" (PDF). German Institute for International and Security Affairs.
  14. ↑ "The Supreme Council Undergoes Broad Changes in the Ranks… Hakim: We Paid a High Price in Previous Elections," al-Rafidayn, Nov. 20, 2011
  15. ↑ "Hadi Al-Ameri: A Militia Leader Torn between Washington and Tehran". Archived from the original on 2014-12-13. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  16. ↑ "Why the Uprisings Failed". Middle East Research and Information Project. 4 May 1992. Archived from the original on 2011-10-19. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  17. ↑ Gunter, Michael M. (March 1998). "Turkey and Iran Face off in Kurdistan". The Middle East Quarterly.
  18. ↑ "Torture by Iraqi militias: the report Washington did not want you to see". Reuters. 14 Dec 2015.
  19. 1 2 3 Andrew Buncombe & Patrick Cockburn, "Iraq's death squads: on the brink of civil war," The Independent (Feb. 26, 2006). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Kareem Fahim (February 7, 2015). "Shiite Militia Drives Back Islamic State, but Divides Much of Iraq". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2015. Daesh was like hell
  21. ↑ "Quwet al-Shahid Muhammed Baqir al-Sadr". jihadology.net.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cite error: The named reference numbers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ↑ Al Seyasia June 2017 [dead link]
  24. ↑ "Bas News". Archived from the original on 2022-09-10. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  25. ↑ "The Badr Organization". Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) (in German). Retrieved 2021-12-25.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Badr_Organization&oldid=1356611515"