Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (TheNujaba Movement or HHN;
Arabic: حركة حزب الله النجباء,
romanized: Ḥaraka Ḥizballāh an-Nujabā’,
lit. 'Movement of the Party of God's Nobles'), officially the 12th Brigade, is a radical
Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary group that is especially active in
Syria and Iraq. It was established in 2013 by
Akram al-Kaabi to support
Bashar al-Assad in
Syria against Islamist rebels. The group is supported by the
IRGC's
Quds Force, which provides the funding, weapons, and training of its members.[32]
The militia is also supported by the
Lebanese Hezbollah and acts as part of the
Axis of Resistance. It is a part of Iraq's
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a group of Shi’ite militias that are close to
Iran, until 2020 when it joined the
Islamic Resistance in Iraq.[33] The Nujaba Movement adopts the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and regards Iran's Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei as its supreme leader.[32] A January 2024 report in
The Hill indicates that it is still part of the PMF.[34] The group seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel U.S. and allied forces from the country, and advance Iranian interests throughout the Middle East.
HHN militia fighters in Iraq are deployed mainly in southern Iraq and in the provinces of Baghdad,
Salah ad Din,
Diyala, and
Nineveh. The militia fighters in Syria are deployed mainly in the provinces of
Deir ez-Zor and
Raqqa, where they have established positions, headquarters, training camps, and recruitment offices to recruit Syrian residents.[35]
HHN emerged in 2013 as an offshoot of the Iraqi paramilitary
Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) and is led by AAH co-founder Akram al-Kaabi. al-Kaabi said that he formed the
militia after a period of militant inactivity in the
Syrian Civil War. He denies it emerged from a "split" with AAH, but that he chose not to unify with them due to disagreements.[9]
The two groups still share close affinity, often simultaneously commemorating martyrs.[42] They have released a
nasheed praising Iranian
Quds Force commander
Qasem Suleimani.[1] Both groups follow the Iranian government's ideology, and al-Kaabi has stated that he would overthrow the Iraqi government or fight alongside the
YemeniHouthis if ordered by
Grand Ayatollah Khamenei.[12]
HHN was one of the first Iraqi paramilitaries to send fighters to
Syria, where it has been active since its formation in 2013. It has had an increasing role in Syria after a significant boost to recruitment efforts took place in 2015.[42] It was a major participant in the
2015 South Aleppo offensive[43] and the
breaking of the siege of the Shia towns
Nubl and
Zahraa.[44]
In December 2014, ABNA.ir published photos of Iranian-built
Yasir UAV (an unlicensed copy of the American
ScanEagle) claimed in use with HHN.[45]
In April 2015, al-Kaabi said HHN had suffered 126 casualties, including 38 in Syria.[1]
On 1 January 2019, al-Kaabi said that the
IRGC and Lebanese
Hezbollah helped the militant Shi'ite forces of the
Mahdi Army that were fighting the U.S. forces in 2004. He said that in the
2004 Battle of Najaf,
IRGC and
Hezbollah officers were present on the ground and helped during the battle, in which 13 US servicemen were killed and over 100 wounded.[46]
In November 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched missiles on various Israel targets, including in the Red Sea city of
Eilat.[47]
On 3 December 2023, five members of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba were killed in U.S. airstrikes near
Kirkuk as they were preparing to launch a drone against American forces.[48][49]
On 4 January 2024, a targeted drone strike by the U.S. military in Baghdad killed the region's deputy commander of operations,
Mushtaq Talib Al-Saeedi, or Abu Taqwa. Other casualties sustained included 3 additional individuals and 6 wounded.[50][51]
^
abAl-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (5 September 2018).
"Harakat al-Nujaba': Interview". Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi.
Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). www.washingtoninstitute.org. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link)
^El-Ghobashy, Tamer; Abi-Habib, Maria (5 October 2016).
"Iraqi Militias Complicate Aleppo Battle". Wall Street Journal.
Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018 – via www.wsj.com.