Liwa Zainebiyoun

Liwa Zainebiyoun
لواء زينبیون
Liwa Zainebiyoun; لواء زينبیون
	Official flag of the group
Also known as	Hezbollah Pakistan
Founder	Saqib Haider Karbalai; Qasem Soleimani;
Known Commanders	Saqib Haider Karbalai ("Haj Haider") †; (2012-2017); Tehran Turi; (2017-present); Irshad Hussain ("Qalandar") †; (until 2024)
Dates of operation	2012 (de facto, but officially in late 2014) – present
Split from	Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas; Liwa Fatemiyoun
Allegiance	Iran IRGC Quds Force; ; ;
Headquarters	Iran (Mashhad and Qom)
Active regions	Syria (under Assad regime, until 2024); Iraq (since 2024); Yemen (in Houthi territory)
Ideology	Shia Islamism; Jihadism (Shia); Khomeinism; Wilayat al Faqih; Anti-Zionism; Anti-Americanism;
Slogan	إِن يَنصُرْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ [Quran 3:160]; "If Allah helps you, none can defeat you."
Status	Active (banned in Pakistan)
Size	~Several hundreds (est. 2014); c. 800-2500+ (est. 2019); c. 2500-4500+ (est. 2020); c. 3,000-5,000+ (est. 2021)
Part of	Axis of Resistance
Allies	State allies Iran; Iraq; Russia; Ba'athist Syria (until 2024); Yemen (Supreme Political Council); Non-State allies; In Syria: ; As part of the Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war: National Defence Forces (until 2024); Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas (until 2024); Liwa al-Quds (until 2024); Syrian Hezbollah (until 2024); ; After the fall of Assad regime: Popular Resistance of the Eastern Region (since 2025); Syrian Popular Resistance (since 2025); Military Council for the Liberation of Syria (since 2025); Islamic Resistance Front in Syria (since 2025); Coastal Shield Brigade (since 2025); Guardians of Truth Battalions (since 2025); ; In Afghanistan:; Liwa Fatemiyoun; Hezbollah Afghanistan; In Azerbaijan:; Hüseynçilər; In Lebanon:; Hezbollah; Amal Movement; In Yemen:; Houthis (officially Ansar Allah); In Iraq: / Popular Mobilization Units Badr Organization; Liwa al-Tafuf; Kata'ib al-Imam Ali; Islamic Resistance in Iraq Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba; / Kata'ib Hezbollah; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada; Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya; Mukhtar Army; ; ; In Bahrain:; Al-Ashtar Brigades; Waad Allah Brigades; al-Mukhtar Brigades; In Pakistan:; Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan; Tehreek-e-Jafaria (Pakistan); Ansar-ul-Hussain Khatam-ul-Anbia ; ;
Opponents	State opponents United States; Israel; Yemen (Presidential Leadership Council); Saudi Arabia; Syria (since 2024); Non-State opponents ; In Syria:; National Front for Liberation; Free Syrian Army; Syrian National Army; Islamic Front; al-Nusra Front; Hayat Tahrir al-Sham; Islamic State; Ahrar al-Sham; Syrian Democratic Forces (until 2024/25); In Pakistan:; Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (until 2024); Sipah-e-Sahaba (2018); / Pakistani Taliban; Jaish ul-Adl; Ansar Al-Furqan;
Battles and wars	Iran–Israel proxy conflict; Syrian Civil War Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016); Aleppo offensive (October–November 2016); Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016); Siege of Deir ez-Zor; Palmyra offensive (2017); Hama offensive (March–April 2017); Battle of Khasham; Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020); ; War in Iraq (2013–2017); Yemeni Civil War; Sectarian violence in Pakistan;
Designated as a terrorist group by	Pakistan; United States;
Flag

The Followers of Zainab Brigade (Arabic: لِوَاء الزَّيْنَبِيُون, romanized: Liwā' az-Zaynabīyūn; Persian: لواء زينبیون or لشکر زينبیون, Liwa Zeinabiyoun or Lashkare Zeinabiyoun; Urdu: لواء زینبیون), also known as the Zainebiyoun Brigade or Zainebiyoun Division, is a Pakistani Shia Khomeinist militant group. It was actively engaged in the Syrian Civil War against ISIL and the Syrian Rebels. It draws recruits mainly from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran, with some also Shia Muslim communities living in various regions of Pakistan.

It was formed and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and operates under their command. Initially tasked with defending the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque, it entered frontlines since then across Syria, until 2024. Its dead are buried primarily in Iran. A minimum of 158 of their fighters had died in Syria as of March 2019 (based on publicly announced funeral services), excluding those killed in Israeli airstrikes. According to 2019 estimates, the total number of Pakistani fighters in the brigade barely exceeded 800.