| Country: | Syria |
| Details of Formation: | Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq is a group mainly active in Iraq (cf. AAH PGM in Iraq). In 2013, AAH began acknowledging that it is also militarily active in Syria, where it is allied to the Syrian regime. |
| Details of Termination: | -- |
| Purpose: | The main purpose of the AAH in Syria is to fight rebels and support President Bashar al-Assad’s rule. |
| Organisation: | Syria’s ally Iran provides the funding for the AAH. The AAH is allied to the Syrian and Iraqi regimes. The militia is led by Qays al-Khaz’ali. |
| Weapons and Training: | The AAH is armed with sniper rifles. The Syrian government sends militias loyal to Assad to training bases in Iran. It is not clear whether this includes the AAH. |
| Size: | A news source mentions that the AAH has around 2,000 to 3,000 fighters in Iraq; it is not clear how large its number of fighters is in Syria. |
| Reason for Membership: | Some members of this Shiite militia are motivated by a sense of religious duty. Another reason for membership was the good payment members received, in a context of poverty where fighting seemed to be the only solution on how to earn money. A news source from December 2014 mentions an AAH child soldier. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The AAH committed violence against civilians in Iraq. We found no information on treatment of civilians in Syria. |
| Other Information: | Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq created the subgroup 'Liwaa Kafeel Zaynab' as expeditionary force operating in Syria only. The AAH is also coded a PGM in Iraq where it was allied to President al-Maliki, who de-facto allowed AAH fighters to go to Syria to fight there. |
| References: | Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD |