In the wake of Muqtada al Sadr’s defeat at the hands of the Iraqi and Coalition forces this spring and fall, Iran has increased its backing of splinter Shia terror groups operating in Iraq. A previously unknown group, known as the Asaib al Haq, or League of the Righteous, has recently appeared on Multinational Forces Iraq’s radar. On Aug. 19, the US military issued its first press release on the group, announcing the capture of four operatives in Diyala province. Multinational Forces-Iraq provided exclusive details on the Shia terror group to The Long War Journal.

Yesterday’s raid and subsequent press release was the first official mention of the League of the Righteous at Multinational Forces-Iraq’s website. Coalition forces, likely members of Task Force 88, the special operations hunter-killer teams assigned to track al Qaeda and Shia terror groups in Iraq, targeted an operative from the League of the Righteous in the town of Qasarin, just 18 miles north of Baghdad in Diyala province. Coalition intelligence indicated the operative, who was a weapons smuggler and financier, was “attempting to restart” League of the Righteous cells in the region.

The operative, along with two associates, was captured in the raid after family members confirmed his identity. He immediately provided the name of a senior leader in the region and guided Coalition forces to the home. The leader was also detained.

There is little public information available on the League of the Righteous. The name appeared in an Associated Press report last week on Iranian support for Shia terror groups in Iraq. But few details on the group were provided, other than it was being funded by Iran as an assassination squad targeting Coalition forces and Iraqi officials and security forces. A Multinational Forces-Iraq spokesperson who wishes to remain anonymous provided additional details on the League of the Righteous in an e-mail interview with The Long War Journal.

The League of the Righteous is an offshoot from the Mahdi Army, the military arm of Muqtada al Sadr’s political movement. The group split from the Mahdi Army after he declared a cease-fire “because they disagreed with the path the Office of the Martyr Sadr (OMS) was taking,” the spokesperson said. “They make up a group which actively opposed MAS’ [Muqtada al Sadr’s] call for cease-fire and continued, and even increased, their anti-Coalition and anti-Iraqi attacks. They are as much an enemy of OMS as they are the Government of Iraq and the Coalition.”

In June, Sadr announced he would disband the Mahdi Army and form a small, secretive military arm to fight Coalition forces. He also withdrew the Sadrist movement from the political process and instead vowed to back independent candidates. The decisions caused shockwaves in the Mahdi Army, as some leaders wished to continue the fight against US forces in Baghdad and in southern and central Iraq.

Iran plays an important roll in supporting the League of the Righteous’ activities in Iraq. “We assess that Asaib al Haq (AAH) receives funding, training, weapons and even direction from the Qods Force, who have shown a desire to destabilize the legitimate government of Iraq,” the spokesperson said. Qods Force is Iran’s foreign special operations branch tasked with spreading the theocratic Khomeinist revolution.

Members of the League of the Righteous are sheltering in Iran. “Some have been there for a long time, while others have been there since fleeing to avoid capture in the spring,” the spokesperson said, referring to the military offensive against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Iraq that began in March and is still underway in the southern provinces. The information was obtained from members of the group currently in custody, “as well as other intelligence sources,” the spokesperson said.

Multinational Forces-Iraq declined to provide an estimate on the size of the League of the Righteous, but noted that “their numbers have significantly dwindled because hundreds have been captured, killed, ran away or simply gave up their criminal lifestyles.” The group operates in Baghdad and the South as well as in Shia regions in Diyala province.

The League of the Righteous conducts attacks with the deadly, armor-piercing explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs. These are the signature weapons of Iran’s Qods Force. “We assess that these criminals have engaged in numerous EFP and IED attacks, as well as kidnappings, sectarian killings and other heinous crimes,” the spokesperson said, while also linking Hezbollah to the group. “The munitions and training to conduct these anti-Iraqi acts come from training received in Iran from the Qods Force as well as Lebanese Hezbollah trainers.”

The Iraqi military and Multinational Forces-Iraq have recently stepped up its attacks on the Hezbollah Brigades, another “Special Groups” offshoot that has conducted EFP and improvised rocket-assisted mortar, or IRAM, attacks on US and Iraqi forces. US forces have detained a senior Hezbollah trainer and several Qods Force officers inside Iraq since late 2006. Iran sent in Hezbollah operatives along with Qods Force into Iraq to train the Mahdi Army to operate along the same lines as Lebanese Hezbollah.

Iran’s Qods Force established the Ramazan Corps, the command assigned to direct the campaign against Coalition and Iraqi forces, after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Ramazan Corps ran three training camps in southern Iraq and established a network of supply and distribution points for Iranian-manufactured weapons. The Ramazan Corps also operated a command and control center in Amarah in southern Maysan province, a stronghold of the Mahdi Army. This infrastructure has been uprooted during the Iraqi-led offensive.

For more information on Iran’s involvement in supporting the Shia terror groups in Iraq, see:

• Iranian Qods Force Agents Detained in Irbil Raid,
Jan. 14, 2007
• The Karbala attack and the IRGC,
Jan. 26, 2007
• Iran, Hezbollah train Iraqi Shia "Secret Cells",
July 2, 2007
• Surging in Wasit Province,
Sept. 18, 2007
• Captured Iranian Qods Force officer a regional commander in Iraq,
Oct. 3, 2007
• Iran's Ramazan Corps and the ratlines into Iraq,
Dec. 5, 2007
• Sadr forms new unit to attack US forces,
June 13, 2008
• Sadrist movement withdraws from political process,
June 15, 2008
• Mahdi Army decimated during recent fighting,
June 26, 2008
• Iraqi forces detain Sadrist leaders, uncover Special Groups headquarters in Amarah,
July 2, 2008
• Iraqi forces detain Sadrist leaders, uncover Special Groups headquarters in Amarah,
July 2, 2008
• Iran continues to train Shia terror groups for attacks in Iraq,
Aug. 15, 2008

For more information on the Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq, see:

• Hezbollah Brigades propaganda specialist captured in Baghdad,
July 21, 2008
• Coalition forces capture Hezbollah Brigades operative in Baghdad,
July 31, 2008
• Coalition forces capture 9 Hezbollah Brigades operatives in Baghdad,
Aug. 12, 2008

Hezbollah Brigades' logo is nearly identical to that of Lebanese Hezbollah.

Coalition forces, likely the special operations hunter-killer teams of Task Force 88, have captured nine Hezbollah Brigades operatives during three raids in the Adhamiyah district in Baghdad over the past 24 hours.

The first intelligence-driven raid netted a Hezbollah Brigades cell leader who operated in Basrah. "According to information from suspects already in custody, he is believed to be involved in smuggling weapons and fighters across the Iraq-Iran border," Multinational Forces Iraq reported in a press release. Three other suspected Hezbollah Brigades associates were captured.

The second raid resulted in the capture of Hezbollah Brigades operative behind improvised rocket-assisted mortar (IRAM) attacks in Baghdad. Coalition forces "found weapons, as well as electronics equipment believed to be used in the manufacture of IRAMs" and also detained three other men.

A "propaganda expert" and other member of the Hezbollah Brigades were captured during the third raid. "The man admitted to designing websites for [Hezbollah Brigades] in order for the group to publicize their IRAM attacks on Iraqi and Coalition forces."

This is the third Hezbollah Brigades propaganda specialist captured in the past month. On July 31, Coalition forces detained a cell member who was responsible for videotaping attacks on US and Iraqi forces in Baghdad. On July 21, Coalition forces captured a member of a Hezbollah Brigades propaganda cell who was responsible for uploading attack videos to the Internet in New Baghdad.

The Hezbollah Brigades, or the Kata'ib Hezbollah, has been active for more than a year and has increased its profile by conducting attacks against US and Iraqi forces using the deadly explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, and improvised rocket-assisted mortars, which have been described as flying improvised explosive devices. The Hezbollah Brigades has posted videos of these attacks on the Internet.

Multinational Forces Iraq said the group receives support from Iran and is an “offshoot of Iranian-trained Special Groups," Sergeant Susan James, a Public Affairs NCO for Multinational Forces Iraq told The Long War Journal in July. The US military has referred to the Iranian-backed elements of the Mahdi Army as the Special Groups. The Hezbollah Brigades is described as "a separate and independent organization from Special Groups,” said James.

“We believe that Hezbollah Brigades does receive support from Iran,” James said. “That support likely includes funding, training, logistics, and material.” Iran's Qods Force funds, trains, arms, and supports Mahdi Army operatives to facilitate attacks on Coalition and Iraqi forces. "They are also believed to receive guidance or direction from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps - Qods Force," Multinational Forces Iraq stated in the latest press release on the capture of nine Hezbollah Brigades operatives in Baghdad.

The logo used by the Hezbollah Brigades is nearly an exact match of the one used by Lebanese Hezbollah, which is directly supported by Iran. The logo shows an arm extended vertically, with the fist grasping an AK-47 assault rifle. US forces captured Ali Mussa Daqduq inside Iraq in early 2007. Daqduq is a senior Hezbollah commander who was tasked with setting up the Mahdi Army Special Groups along the same lines as the Lebanese terror group.

For more information on improvised rocket-assisted mortars, see: Mahdi Army uses “flying IEDs” in Baghdad.

Map of Diyala province [PDF]. Click to view.

The Iraqi military announced it captured 265 suspected al Qaeda fighters during operations from July 29 through Aug. 2. Five members of al Qaeda's provincial shura, or executive council, were captured during this timeframe.

Iraqi troops captured Qussai Ali Khalaf, the leader of al Qaeda's Islamic State in Iraq in Diyala province; Adnan Gumer Mohammed, the provincial "judge"; Ahmed Quasim Jabbar the provincial military commander; Abu Anas al Baghdadi, "a top al-Qaeda operative in Diyala"; Basem al Safaah, who led sectarian attacks against Shia; and Antisar Khudair a woman who recruited female suicide bombers. Al Qaeda has stepped up female suicide attacks in an effort to bypass increased security.

The arrests over the past two days show the Iraqi security forces are operating throughout most of the province. On Aug. 3 Iraqi soldiers and police arrested 18 insurgents in the Adhim, Kanaan, and Tahrir regions, and captured 15 more in raids throughout the province. On August 4, Iraqi security forces captured 34 "wanted men" during operations in Khalis and captured 15 insurgents in Miqdadiyah.

Operation Omens of Prosperity

Operation Omens of Prosperity began on July 29 after the Iraqi and US military and the government of Iraq signaled the operation well in advance. Diyala has been the most violent province in Iraq this year as al Qaeda has attempted to regroup in the rural farmlands in the eastern and northern regions of the province.

Iraqi and US military intelligence indicates al Qaeda has camps and safe havens in the desert regions, the foothills of the Hamrin mountains, and around Lake Hamrin. "We have seen al-Qaida continue to be pushed into what we call 'the support zones' or the areas of the desert," said Major General Mark Hertling, the commander Multi-National Division North during a press briefing on July 27. "And we will continue to pursue them into those areas, relentlessly pursuing them and showing them there is no sanctuary until they leave this country."

These bases are used to strike and Iraqi military and civilian targets in the urban areas in Diyala as well as in Baghdad.

Operation Omens of Prosperity is currently broken down into three smaller operations: Sabre Pursuit, Iron Pursuit, and Bastogne Pursuit. An estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Iraqi soldiers and police, backed by about 3,000 US troops, are participating in the operation.

Sabre Pursuit, which began on July 25, four days prior to Omens of Prosperity, has focused on the southeastern region of Balad Ruz. The region appears to have been cleared as local security has been fully transferred to Iraqi soldiers and police and an emphasis is being placed on reconstruction efforts.

Iron Pursuit is a US-led operation that is "directed against all the support zones of al Qaeda in Iraq," Hertling said. The operation is spanning Diyala and neighboring Salahadin province. Iraqi and US troops are conducting air assaults into known al Qaeda rear areas.

Iron Pursuit also serves as a blocking force to catch al Qaeda fighters fleeing Diyala westward into Salahadin. Iraqi troops are "pushing toward the Uzaym River Valley attempting to kill or capture AQI members fleeing from Diyala into Salahadin in order to escape advancing Iraqi Security and Coalition forces." Three al Qaeda fighters have been killed and nine captured so far.

There has been no reporting on Bastogne Pursuit, which was mentioned by Hertling during the July 27 briefing, but the operation is likely to focus on the foothills of the Hamrin Mountains in the Kifri and Khanaqin districts in the north. Iraqi troops captured a senior al Qaeda financier and facilitator in the Lake Hamrin region.

Map of Iraq. Click to view.

Iraqi security forces are massing more than 30,000 soldiers and police for an upcoming operation against al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army in the eastern province of Diyala, according to police and military officials.

The operation, which was expected to be launched this week, has been scheduled to kick off on August 1, an anonymous senior Iraqi military officer told AFP. "The operation is aimed at cleansing the region of insurgents, al Qaeda and militias who are still there," the officer said.

Like other offensives against al Qaeda and the Mahdi Army, the Diyala operation will be planned and led by the Iraqi military. "It will be an operation led by the Iraqi army," an anonymous US military officer told AFP. "The US army will probably only watch. ... If they need help, we'll help them. If not, we will not do anything."

The US currently has a brigade based in Diyala. The 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment is operating in northeastern Diyala and has been conducting operations against al Qaeda strongholds along the Iranian border.

The Iraqi command has shown the ability to move and mass troops for large-scale operations this year. While this is not confirmed, elements from the 1st Iraqi Army Division -- redesignated the 1st Quick Reaction Force -- along with the 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized), and several Emergency Response Brigades will likely join the 5th Iraqi Army Division based in Diyala. The 1st, 9th, and the Emergency Response Brigades have been used to conduct operations against the Mahdi Army in Baghdad and throughout the South.

Iraqi and US forces have conducted several operations in Diyala province since the surge was announced in January 2007. Last summer and fall, operations focused on clearing Baqubah, the Diyala River Valley north of Baqubah, and surrounding districts of the influence of al Qaeda and Mahdi Army. In January 2008, an operation was launched in the Miqdadiyah region, where al Qaeda was building a safe haven.

Al Qaeda still maintains a stronghold in the Hamrin Mountains, which span Diyala, Salahadin, and Tamin provinces. This area is a major fallback position for al Qaeda in Iraq and allied insurgent groups. The Miqdadiyah region was reported to be an al Qaeda stronghold earlier this year. The Mahdi Army operates along the fault lines in the eastern and southern areas of the province.

More Iraqis are currently being killed in Diyala province per day per capita than in any other province in Iraq, according to numbers compiled by Chris Radin of The Long War Journal. Diyala has 2.62 Iraqis killed per day per million inhabitants, compared to Ninewa (1.4) and Baghdad (0.6), the second and third most violent provinces.

Operations in Babil and Wasit provinces loom

Iraqi forces are also preparing for a security operation in Babil province, just south of Baghdad. An operation may also take place in Wasit province as the Diyala security operation take place.

In Babil, a curfew has been imposed in the provincial capital of Hillah as Iraqi security forces, backed by US troops, launched a search operation. The operation is taking place in northern Babil, an anonymous source told Voices of Iraq.

The operation is taking place where elements from the newly formed 17th Iraqi Army Division are based. This operation is likely smaller in scope than the planned Diyala offensive or prior operations in Basrah, Sadr City, Maysan, and Mosul.

The Babil operation is likely a precursor to an operation in Wasit province, which may be launched in conjunction with the Diyala offensive. Wasit sits on the eastern border of Babil and the southern border of Diyala.

Wasit is the only central-southern province that has not been a focus of major combat operations. The Iraqi military started its rolling offensive in Basrah in March, and then proceeded to tackle the provinces of Dhi Qhar, Qadisiyah, Maysan, and now Babil. All of these provinces are major areas of operations for the Iranian-backed Shia terror groups.

Click to view images from Taji. Photos by Bill Murray.

TAJI, IRAQ: There are few pictures of a US Army Tactical Operations Centers, and once inside you realize why. Everything within the walls of a TOC in Iraq -- and there are dozens at the company, battalion and brigade levels -- is more or less classified. Screen after screen of live Unmanned Aerial Vehicle camera footage, high-definition video from floating balloons tethered high above each forward-operating base, high-powered FM radios connected with ground troops, three tiers of desks with sergeants and captains using internal message and email systems to communicate with UAV operators. It’s a bit Hollywood for the uninitiated.

On these screens, the battle for Sadr City in late March and April played out. The 4th US Army Division’s 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, located at Taji Airbase in the suburbs of Baghdad, had responsibility for close-air support and reconnaissance for most of Baghdad east of the Tigris River when between March 25 and mid-May, elements within Muqtada al Sadr’s Mahdi Army fought pitched with Iraqi Army and Coalition forces for control of the stronghold.

The spike in violence caused the regiment to keep six AH-64 Apaches in the air over northern and eastern Baghdad at all times as part of coordinated ground attacks with Iraqi National forces and the US 4th Division and 10th Mountain Division. During that time, Apaches from units surrounding Baghdad fired more than 200 Hellfire laser-guided missiles, killing 251 enemy combatants, according to Civil Affairs Sergeant First Class Chris Seaton. Sadr’s forces and the Iraqi government of Nouri al Maliki agreed on a cease-fire in May.

During that period there were "dozens of engagements a day. Now we’re back into where we want it to be," said Lieutenant Colonel Todd Royer, the regiment’s commander. "Iraqi security forces are showing active signs of improvement. Almost all the missions are joint, and almost all of them have been Iraqi led."

The evolution of US Army’s TOCs during the Iraqi conflict may be among the biggest reasons why the military "surge" in the past year has helped cut year-on-year violence in the country by up to 80 percent, according to the Department of Defense.

The near instantaneous, error-free communication between air surveillance and ground troops has allowed much fewer troops on the ground to coordinate with air support and Iraqi forces, making units such as the 10th Mountain Division a potent constabulary force using a fraction of the troops normally necessary for such role.

"The ground units have been ... getting high-value individuals, time-sensitive targets," said Apache pilot Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jeffrey Dumond. "They were sporadic before in Sadr City. Then, it became everyday, then, several times a day. It seems to have worked. It’s uneventful out there now."

Doing the job of a unit twice its size, the 3rd Regiment operates 24 Apache helicopters, the US military’s premier attack helicopter, and 10 Blackhawk helicopters -- used for everything from medivac flights to office moves. In the past seven months, the 36 helicopters have flown 14,000 hours, more than a regular unit would fly in two years.

Sadr's forces took a relentless pounding from US aerial attacks and the Iraqi Army, while anecdotal evidence from Iraqi police and Army patrols showed parts of Sadr City decimated of grown men, leaving only 12 or 13-year-old boys to fight. Violent activities in Sadr City have plummeted since the May cease-fire. More than 1,000 members Mahdi Army member are believed to have been killed there, while another 1,300 Mahdi Army fighters from Iraq may have escaped to safe houses in Iran.

US intelligence reports say Sadr is trying to get his leaders to meet him in Qom, Iran, where he may be hiding, in order to reconstitute forces with a focus on attacking exclusively US military targets.

"It’s possible there is a slowdown because of the regional elections coming up" in October or November, said Dumond, speaking after an evening pilot's briefing. "They may feel they need to rebuild trust" after organized bombing in crowded areas angered Shia populations that represent the core of Sadr’s political support.

The exhibition of force by the US and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki in the past months is not without US critics. A Washington Post article published May 23 criticized the unit and particular pilots for civilian deaths and injuries occurring during the March to May period.

"The Post article did a real disservice to the pilot," said Major Geoff Crawford, second in command of the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment. "It came here with an agenda." Officers in the unit wrote a letter to the Washington Post, complaining that much of the story’s reporting was taken out of context. The letter itself was edited without permission before publication, Crawford said.

Despite the importance of the Iraqi Army’s investiture of Sadr City and Basrah and the dethroning of Sadr’s powerbase within Baghdad, periods of decreased violence in the past have not lasted, while political reconciliation between Shia, Sunnis and Kurds remains incomplete.

"Success now is not determined by the number of engagement, but by lack of engagements," said Captain Matthew Paladino, who operates the regiment’s Tactical Operations Center.

The regiment this month is in the process of transferring south to Baghdad’s International Airport, taking over surveillance and close air support over much of southern Iraq until February, when the 700 soldiers in the unit rotate back to Fort Hood, Texas.