"Controlled by Iran, the deadly militia recruiting Iraq's men to die in Syria", reads the title of the article, written by Martin Chulov for the Guardian. He writes about what he calls "the Middle East's most potent new political force", Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, that is stepping up its support for the Bashar al-Assad regime.
"Since the US military left Iraq in December 2011, and within two months of the first national election since then, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq has quietly emerged as one of the most powerful players in the country's political and public life. Through a mix of strategic diplomacy, aggressive military operations and intimidation – signature methods of its main patron, the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani – the group is increasingly calling the shots in two countries [Iraq and Syria]", reads the article.
"Now, as Iraq approaches parliamentary elections on 30 April, the group is stepping up its political activism in Baghdad and its support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. In speeches and interviews in the past two years, Qais al-Khazali [the leader of the group] has claimed a role for the group based on its military "defeat" of the US. His message has galvanised thousands of Iraqi Shias who have volunteered to fight for the Assad regime in Syria. And it has worried many communities across the Shia heartland, who see their countrymen's involvement in Syria's battles as a costly investment in a sectarian conflict that increasingly respects no border", writes Martin Chulov.
"If you are accepted, you will be taken to Iran for around two weeks for training and then you will be sent to Syria. It's the same way home if you die there. And if someone dies, they will be looked after by Iran. The families of martyrs are paid up to $5,000 each. And if they are too poor to pay for the burial, that will be taken care of too, " the Guardian quotes a local man who had sat in on an interview between a would-be volunteer and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq officials.
