Salvation Force
| Salvation Force | |
|---|---|
| سپای ڕزگاری | |
Sheikh Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din Naqshbandi on horseback | |
| Also known as | Army of Umar ibn al-Khattab |
| Founding leader | Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din Naqshbandi |
| Leaders |
|
| Foundation | 1980 |
| Dissolved | 1988 |
| Country | Iran |
| Active regions | Avroman |
| Ideology | Kurdish-Islamic nationalism Naqshbandi Islamism Anti-Iranian sentiment |
| Size | 5,000-6,000 |
| Allies | Ba'athist Iraq Komala (formerly) KDPI (formerly) |
| Opponents | Iran Muslim Peshmerga Komala KDPI PUK |
| Battles and wars | 1979–1983 Kurdistan conflict Iran-Iraq war |
The Salvation Force (Kurdish: سپای ڕزگاری; Sipay Rizgarî) was a Naqshbandi Sufi Islamist militant group composed of Kurds, active in the Avroman region of Iranian Kurdistan during the 1979–1983 Kurdistan conflict and Iran-Iraq war. Like other Kurdish separatist groups in Iran, they aligned with and were armed by the Iraqi side. For the period of its existence, it was led by its founder Sheikh Muhammad Uthman Siraj al-Din Naqshbandi, of the prominent Sheikhs of Tawilah family.