Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya () or just simply Ansar Allah al-Awfiya () is an Iraqi-based and Iranian funded Shia militant group that is a part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq that was designated as terrorists by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

on June 17, 2024, for attacking U.S. soldiers stationed in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and its association and alliance with many already designated militant groups based in Iraq.

History

The group was created in 2013 as a political group in

Maysan Governorate Maysan Governorate () is a governorate in southeastern Iraq, bordering Iran. Its administrative centre is the city of Amarah, and it is composed of six districts. Before 1976, it was named Amara Province. Etymology This region was called ''Messè ...

calling themselves Kayan al-Sadiq wa al-Ataa before becoming a brigade of the Iraqi-state sponsored

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; ), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella group that operates within Iraq. Although formally and legally part of the Iraqi Armed Forces and reportin ...

under the name of the 19th PMF Brigade in 2014. The group still remain active politically, separate from its militant actions, under the named Harakat al-Sadiq wa al-Ataa. The group targeted many bases and soldiers of the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

and the

Syrian Democratic Forces The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is a Kurds in Syria, Kurdish-led coalition of U.S.-backed Left-wing politics, left-wing ethnic militias and rebel groups, and serves as the official military wing of the Democratic Autonomous Administration ...

. The group has also attacked

The Global Coalition Many states began to intervene against the Islamic State, in both the Syrian civil war and the War in Iraq (2013–2017), in response to its rapid territorial gains from its 2014 Northern Iraq offensives, universally condemned executions, hu ...

in order to attack

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

forces in both Syria and Iraq. The group has also been described as an ally of the

Quds Force The Quds Force () is one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). It specializes in unconventional warfare and military intelligence operations. U.S. Army's Iraq War General Stanley McChrystal describes the Quds Fo ...

of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps by doing attacks on their behalf. The group allegedly had links to many kidnappings and murders of protesters during the 2019 Tishreen movement including the kidnapping of prominent leaders like Sajad al-Iraqi and Ali Jasb. The group has publicly threatened to terrorize Iraqi civilians who support the United States as a way to undermine what it calls "American interests in Iraq". The United States has claimed that the group had involvement in the Tower 22 drone attack against a U.S. base in Jordan in which 3 U.S. soldiers were killed and 34 were injured. On June 17, 2024, the

designated the group as a terrorist organization and the leader of the group, Haydar Muzhir Ma'lak al-Sa'idi, as a specially designated terrorist for their targeting of U.S. bases in the Middle East and the involvement of strikes against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

with many of the strikes coming from south

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. In response to the terrorist designation, the leader of the group mocked the United States by stating that the designation was a "badge of honor".

History

References