Info:
The Sayyid of Martyrs Battalions, or Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) is an Iraqi Shia militia formed in 2013. Its stated mission is to protect “(Shia) shrines across the globe”, preserve “Iraqi unity” and to “put an end to the sectarian conflict”;
The group has been described as an Iranian proxy, and is one of the original militias that formed the Popular Mobilization Forces in 2014. The group has close ties to the Badr Organization;
The group is also active in Syria, where its main focus is the protection of the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in the southern suburbs of Damascus. It militarily supports the al-Assad Government in the Syria Civil War, and engaged in the Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin in December 2014 in Syria in support of the Syrian army;
The Kata’ib Sayyid Al-Shuhada militia, one of the most notorious groups operating under the Popular Mobilization Forces banner, declared its support for the Houthis in Yemen. The group has been fighting in Iraq and in Syria and has adopted a violent sectarian approach. Abu Walaa Al-Walai, the group’s leader, said in a widely circulated video that he and his militia were ready to fight alongside the Houthis;
In the summer of 2018, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, a member of the Factions of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, organized a solidarity event for the Houthis in Baghdad that was attended by the group’s Iraq representative;
(Head of Pro-Iran militia threatens Americans in Iraq – Sep 2, 2019) – The leader of an Iraqi Shia militia, backed by Iran, threatened to take hostage “all” US citizens in Iraq in the event of a conflict between the US and Iran. Abu Alaa al-Wala’i, head of the Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) militia, made the threat on Wednesday during an interview with al-Dijla, an Iraqi television station close to the Fatah Coalition, which represents the Shiite militias, or Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), in Iraq’s parliament. On Wednesday, Wala’i, in the Dijla television studio, proclaimed, “All Americans will be held hostage by the resistance factions in the event of a war.”;
Involved In:
Missile Weapon Program
Part of:
Popular Mobilization Forces
Allies
Iran
Syria
Hezbollah
Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas SSI.svg Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas
Kata’ib Hezbollah
Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq
Badr Organization
Ideology:
Shia Islamism
Wilayat al Faqih
Also Known As:
Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada
Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada
Kata’ib Sayyid alShuhada
Kata’ib Sayid al-Shuhada
Country:
Iraq
Website:
www.saidshuhada.com
E-mail:
info@saidshuhada.com
Person of interests:
Abu Ala al-Walai
Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani
Ahmed al-Maksousi
Reason for the color:
» Added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on November 17, 2023 pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, for having been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against U.S. and Iraqi government targets in Iraq, many on behalf of the Government of Iran and the IRGC-QF;
» Imposition of Nonproliferation Measures Against Foreign Persons, Including a Ban on U.S. Government Procurement;