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Kata'ib Sayyid ul-Shuhada

(Redirected from Kataib Seyyed al-Shuhada)

The Master of Martyrs Battalion, better known as Kata'ib Sayyid ul-Shuhada' (KSS; Arabic: كتائب سيد الشهداء, Battalion of the Master of Martyrs) and officially the 14th Brigade, is a Shia Iraqi paramilitary group formed in 2013. Its stated mission is to protect "(Shia) shrines across the globe", preserve "Iraqi unity" and to "put an end to the sectarian conflict". KSS is funded, trained and equipped by IRGC's Quds Force and Hezbollah.

Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada
كتائب سيد الشهداء
Leaders
Mojtaba Khamenei
(Supreme Leader of Iran)
Abu Ala al-Walai[1]
Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani[2]
Dates active2013–present[3]
Country Iraq
Allegiance
GroupLiwa al-Sayyida Ruqayya (The Ja'afari Force)[4]
Active regionsSaladin Governorate, Iraq[5]
Damascus Governorate, Syria[3]
Daraa Governorate[3]
IdeologyShia Islamism
Wilayat al Faqih[6]
Khomeinism
Anti-Zionism
Size10,000 (December 2020)[2]
Part of Popular Mobilization Forces
Islamic Resistance in Iraq (since 2020)
Wars
WebsiteOfficial website

The group has been described as an Iranian 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 IRGC.[12]

KSS was also active in Syria, where its main focus was the protection of the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in a southern suburb of Damascus. It militarily supported the Syrian ba'athist government and participated in the Syrian Civil War.[3] It notably engaged in the Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin where it fought alongside Syrian government forces.[7]

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 Terrorists (SDGT) under the counterterrorism authority Executive Order 13224 by the United States.[13][14][15][16] Additionally, al-Saraji was placed on Office of Foreign Assets Control's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.[17] On 18 September 2025, the U.S. Department of State designated Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada and its aliases as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.[18]

According to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, KSS was built around the network of Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani, a former Kata'ib Hezbollah figure who focused on operations in the Syrian civil war after being sidelined within KH. The same profile states that leadership of KSS passed to Abu Ala al-Walai in 2014, and that the group later operated the 14th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "US mulls how best to Control pro-Iran Factions | Iraq Business News - Part 2". 30 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 Michael Knights (23 June 2017). "Iran's Foreign Legion: The Role of Iraqi Shiite Militias in Syria". Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada". Tracking Terrorism. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Liwa al-Sayyida Ruqayya: Recruiting the Shi'a of Damascus". Aymennjawad. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  5. ↑ Stanford. "MMP: Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada". Mapping Militants Project. Retrieved 2025-12-27.
  6. ↑ "قيادي في "الحشد الشعبي": نتبع ولاية الفقيه لا ساسة العراق". Alrai-Media (in Arabic). 3 August 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Syria Update: November 25 – December 02, 2014". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi (2015-03-16). "The Return of Iraqi Shi'i Militias to Syria". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  9. ↑ "Iranian-backed militia seen with US tank in Iraq". FDD's Long War Journal. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  10. ↑ "Shiite militias, Iraqi forces surround Tikrit". 10 March 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Shiite Jihad in Syria and Its Regional Effects APPENDIX 2 Understanding the Organizations Deployed to Syria" (PDF). Washington Institute for Near East Policy. February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 25, 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Hizballah Cavalcade: Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada Emerges: Updates on the New Iraqi Shia Militia Supplying Fighters to Syria". Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Knights, Michael. "Profile: Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada". The Washington Institute.
  14. ↑ "Counter Terrorism Designations". Office of Foreign Assets Control. November 17, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Terrorist Designations of Iran-aligned Militia Groups". U.S. Department of State. November 17, 2023.
  16. ↑ "U.S. Treasury Sanctions Iran-Aligned Militias in Iraq". U.S. Department of the Treasury. November 17, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji - Sanctions List Search (OFAC)". Office of Foreign Assets Control. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  18. ↑ "Foreign Terrorist Organization Designations of Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata'ib al-Imam Ali". Federal Register. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  19. ↑ Knights, Michael (3 May 2021). "Profile: Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
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