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Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam

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Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam
كتائب روح الله عيسى بن مريم
LeadersSalwan Momika
Dates of operation2014–present
Allegiance Iraq
Active regionsIraq
IdeologySyriac Christianism
Part ofKata'ib al-Imam Ali
Opponents Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Battles and warsIraqi Civil War (2014–2017)

Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam (Arabic: كتائب روح الله عيسى بن مريم; lit. The Brigade of the Spirit of God Jesus Son of Mary) is a militia composed of Christian Assyrians, trained and supplied by an Iraqi Shi'ite militia as a subgroup in the fight against ISIL.

History

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Kataib Rouh was formed in December 2014 as a Christian subgroup of the Kataib al-Imam Ali (Brigade of Imam Ali), itself the armed wing of Harakat al-Iraq al-Islamiyah (Movement of the Islamic Iraq).[1] Kataib al-Imam Ali entered the war against ISIL in June 2014 as a predominantly Shiite militia backed by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Upon the formation of the group, KIA opened a training session for Assyrian soldiers to take part of.[2]

Indian magazine The Week noted that the group had operated on the outskirts of Mosul from 2017, and that they had also been sanctioned by the U.S. government since 2018.[3] Amidst other Assyrian militias that took part in the Iraqi Civil War, the number of active soldiers in Kataib Rouh Allah was likely much smaller.[4]

Affilitiation with Salwan Momika

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The militia was rediscovered after the 2023 Quran burnings in Sweden, when a video surfaced of Salwan Momika delivering a speech addressing the brigade. Momika, an Assyrian from Bakhdida, had previously been connected to Rayan al-Kildani and the Babylon Movement, and had been part of the Syriac Assembly Movement.[5] In his speech to the brigade, Salwan said:

“We either live with dignity or die courageously. I am the officer in charge of Kata’ib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam (the Brigade of the Spirit of God Jesus, Son of Mary), which is affiliated with the Imam Ali Brigades, peace be upon him,”.[5] [6]

Modern activity

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After the liberation of the Nineveh Plains from ISIS, the militia has not had any noteworthy public activity.[7] Since 2018, it has not been part of any military operations in Iraq, and may have been absorbed into the larger Popular Mobilization Forces.

References

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  1. ^ Matthew Levitt & Phillip Smyth, Kataib al-Imam Ali: Portrait of an Iraqi Shiite Militant Group Fighting ISIS Archived 2017-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, January 5, 2015.
  2. ^ Hayek, Abdullah; al-Kaabi, Ameer; Knights, Michael; Malik, Hamdi (27 February 2024). "Profile: Kataib al-Imam Ali". washingtoninstitute.org. Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Protesters storm Swedish Embassy in Baghdad ahead of planned Quran burning". theweek.in. The Week. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2024. The armed group that operated under Momika functioned in the outskirts of Mosul in 2017. The group has been under US sanctions since 2018.
  4. ^ Erica Gastion; Andras Derzsi-Horvath; Christine van den Toorn; Sarah Mathieu-Comtois (August 2017). Backgrounder: Literature Review of Local, Regional or Sub-State Defense Forces in Iraq (PDF) (Report). Global Public Policy Institute. p. 21. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  5. ^ a b "As uncertainty shrouds his future, a past full of contradictions haunts Qur'an burner Salwan Momika". arabnews.com. Arab News. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  6. ^ "كتيبة روح الله عيسى(ع)، تقاتل تحت كتائب الامام علي (ع)". youtube.com. Iraqi Community Voice. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  7. ^ Ahmed, Haidar (21 July 2023). "سلوان موميكا: من هو اللاجئ العراقي الذي أثار الجدل بحرقه نسخة من المصحف في السويد؟". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
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