Summary
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.
| Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam | |
|---|---|
| كتائب روح الله عيسى بن مريم | |
| Dates of operation | 2014–present |
| Allegiance |  Iraq |
| Active regions | Iraq |
| Ideology | Syriac Christianism |
| Part of | Kata'ib al-Imam Ali |
| Opponents |  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Battles and wars | Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) |
Formation and activities edit
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 with uniformed, well-armed members. It has been quite active in Amerli, Tuz, and Diyala fighting alongside other Iraqi Shiite militias, all of them backed by Iranian IRGC. In Saladin Governorate, fighters from the group posed in videos with the severed heads of their slain enemies. In late December 2014, the group set about training Christians for a subgroup called Kataib Rouh wing.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b Matthew Levitt & Phillip Smyth, Kataib al-Imam Ali: Portrait of an Iraqi Shiite Militant Group Fighting ISIS, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, January 5, 2015.