Baqir Brigade

Baqir Brigade
Baqir Brigade
لواء الباقر
	One of the Baqir Brigade's logos; the militia also uses other symbols, including the regular Syrian government flag
Leaders	Khalid al-Hassan
Dates of operation	2012– 2024
Allegiance	Ba'athist Syria
Ideology	Shia jihadism; Syrian nationalism; Anti-Zionism
Size	c. 3,000
Part of	Local Defence Forces; Axis of Resistance
Allies	Iran; Hezbollah; Syrian Democratic Forces (Afrin Region only, since 2018); Various Iraqi Shia militias
Opponents	Islamic State; Turkey; Free Syrian Army ; Ahrar al-Sham; Jaysh al-Islam; Al-Nusra Front/Tahrir al-Sham; United States; Syrian Democratic Forces (eastern Syria only, since 2018)
Battles and wars	Syrian Civil War Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) Operation Canopus Star (claimed); Aleppo offensive (October–December 2015); Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016); 2016 Southern Aleppo campaign; Aleppo offensive (October–November 2016); Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016); ; Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa; Syrian Desert campaign (May–July 2017); Central Syria campaign (2017); Battle of Deir ez-Zor (September–November 2017); Battle of Khasham; Operation Olive Branch; Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020); Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017–present); Northwestern Syria clashes (December 2022–November 2024); 2024 Syrian opposition offensives ; ;

The Baqir Brigade (Arabic: لواء الباقر; Liwa al-Baqir), was a Syrian militia which fought for the Ba'athist government during the Syrian civil war. The militia was one of the most prominent and largest pro-government militias from the Aleppo area and part of the "Local Defence Forces" network. Its members mostly consists of tribesmen from the al-Baggara tribe that traditionally supported the rule of the al-Assad family despite being mostly Sunni Muslim. Though the militia's fighters thus come from a largely Sunni background, many of them have converted to or are at least strongly influenced by Shia Islam. The Baqir Brigade has also been noted for its strong connections to the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran, and various Shiite Iraqi militias, and was thus generally considered to be a Shia or "Shi'ified" fighting force. Despite its alleged loyalty to the Assad government and Iran, the militia mutinied and defected to insurgents during the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives.