Abu Fadl al-Abbas Brigade

A pro-Iranian Shia militia operating alongside Assad's regime throughout Syria. The militia operates especially in the south of the country, including in the Daraa and Quneitra regions near the Israeli border. The brigade consists of Shia Syrian fighters and Shia fighters from pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, mainly from Kata'ib Hezbollah and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq. The brigade receives training, money, and weapons directly from Iran's Revolutionary Guards and is considered one of the arms of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria. The brigade previously included Iraqi Shia fighters who came to defend Shia holy sites in Syria, some of whom were loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. In 2014, a split occurred in the brigade, and many Iraqi fighters returned to Iraq and formed a new brigade named similarly—Abu Fadl al-Abbas Forces, which was dissolved after the victory over ISIS in 2017. The brigade also operates in the Deir ez-Zor area and is one of the largest local militias with about 4,000 Syrian, Iranian, and Afghan fighters. Its fighters guard weapon depots and detention centers at the Al-Rahba castle, a historical site south of Mayadin. They are deployed in the Badiya desert, where they are tasked with repelling ISIS attacks and guarding a religious site at the Ayn Ali spring near the town of Quriyah. They have heavy weapons, ammunition depots, and missiles.