Liwa Fatemiyoun

Liwa Fatemiyoun
Liwa Fatemiyoun
لواء الفاطميون
	Liwa Fatemiyoun fighters during the Palmyra offensive (December 2016), showcasing their flag
Leaders	Ali Reza Tavassoli ("Abu Hamed Ali Sah Xakis") †; Hussain Fedayee ("Zulfiqar") †
Dates of operation	November 2014 – present
Split from	Liwa Abu Fadl al-Abbas
Allegiance	Iran IRGC Quds Force; ; ;
Group(s)	Hazrat-e Abolfazl Brigade
Headquarters	Mashhad, Iran
Active regions	Syria (until 2024); Iraq (since 2024); Yemen
Ideology	Shia Islamism; Khomeinism ; Anti-Sunnism
Slogan	إِن يَنصُرْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ [Quran 3:160]; "If Allah helps you, none can defeat you."
Size	c. 12,000-14,000 (2016); c. 10,000 – 20,000 (2018); c. 500–1,500 (2020); c. 5,000-10,000 (2024)
Part of	Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ; Axis of Resistance
Allies	Iran; Russia; Liwa Zainebiyoun; Hüseynçilər ; Hezbollah; Iraqi Shia private militias; Ba'athist Syria (until 2024); Yemen (Houthi-led Supreme Political Council)
Opponents	Tahrir al-Sham (former al-Nusra Front); Syrian National Army (former Free Syrian Army); Islamic Front; Islamic State; Syrian Democratic Forces (sometimes); Jaish ul-Adl; Yemen (Presidential Leadership Council); Saudi Arabia; United States
Battles and wars	Iran–Israel proxy conflict; Syrian civil war Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016); 2015 Southern Syria offensive; Northwestern Syria offensive (April–June 2015); Al-Ghab offensive (July–August 2015); Northwestern Syria offensive (October 2015); Palmyra offensive (March 2016); Palmyra offensive (December 2016); 2017 Hama offensive; Syrian Desert campaign (May–July 2017); 2017 Central Syria campaign; Eastern Syria campaign (September–December 2017) Battle of Deir ez-Zor (September–November 2017); 2017 Abu Kamal offensive; Deir ez-Zor offensive (2024); ; Battle of Khasham; Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018); 2018 Southern Syria offensive; Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020); Northwestern Syria clashes (December 2022–November 2024); ; Yemeni Civil War; Republican insurgency in Afghanistan; Balkhab uprising; ;
Designated as a terrorist group by	United States; Canada;

Liwa Fatemiyoun (Arabic: لِوَاء الْفَاطِمِيُّون, romanized: Liwā’ al-Fāṭimīyūn; Persian/Dari: لواء فاطمیون), literally "Fatimid Banner" or Fatemiyoun Brigade, also known as Lashkar-e-Fatemiyoun (Arabic: فرقة فاطميون, romanized: Firqat al-Fāṭimīyūn; Persian/Dari: لشکر فاطمیون) or Fatemiyoun Division is an Afghan Hazara Shia militia formed in 2012/13 to fight in Syria on the side of the Syrian government prior to the collapse of the Assad regime. The group's officially designated purpose, is the defense of the shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, and to fight "takfiri terrorists" in Syria, which would come to include the Islamic State (IS). It is funded, trained, and equipped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and fights under the command of Iranian officers. Both the Fatemiyoun Brigade and the Iranian government downplay their relationship with one another, despite clear coordination and the brigade's operation under the auspices of the IRGC. Liwa Fatemiyoun is also closely associated with Hezbollah Afghanistan.

By late 2017, the unit was presumed to have numbered between 10,000 and 20,000 fighters. According to Zohair Mojahed, a cultural official in the Fatemiyoun Brigade, the group suffered 2,000 killed and 8,000 wounded up to the end of 2017 while fighting in Syria. A minimum of 925 deaths among the brigade's troops were documented based on monitoring of open source coverage of funeral services.