Nasr al-Shammary

Nasr al-Shammary is the deputy secretary-general of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba. Nujaba has been at the forefront of the fight against ISIS alongside the Syrian army, Hezbollah, and other Iran-backed Iraqi militias.“Top Iraqi Militia Leader: Fighting for Iran under Soleimani's leadership Is “Blessing from God”,” Middle East Institute, April 5, 2017, http://www.mei.edu/publications/top-iraqi-militia-leader-fighting-iran-under-soleimanis-leadership-blessing-god; Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, “Hashd Brigade Numbers Index,” Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi's Blog, October 31, 2017, http://www.aymennjawad.org/2017/10/hashd-brigade-numbers-index. Shammary is avowedly anti-American and has threatened U.S. forces throughout the Middle East.

Nujaba formed in 2013 after ISIS began to capture large swaths of Syria and Iraq.Ali Hashem, “Iraq’s Shiite forces claim victory over IS,” Al-Monitor, March 16, 2015, https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/iraq-shiite-hezbollah-nujaba-victory-islamic-state.html. The militia is part of Iraq’s Haashid Shaabi, the umbrella group of anti-ISIS Shiite militias also called Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The PMF coordinate anti-ISIS military ventures between the Syrian army and Iranian-sponsored militias.“Top Iraqi Militia Leader: Fighting for Iran under Soleimani's leadership Is “Blessing from God”,” Middle East Institute, April 5, 2017, http://www.mei.edu/publications/top-iraqi-militia-leader-fighting-iran-under-soleimanis-leadership-blessing-god; Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, “Hashd Brigade Numbers Index,” Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi's Blog, October 31, 2017, http://www.aymennjawad.org/2017/10/hashd-brigade-numbers-index. In August 2019, Shammary declared the United States to be an enemy of the PMF. He labeled the U.S. Embassy in Iraq a “Den of Espionage,” which he claimed was recruiting media activists to spread propaganda in “soft warfare” against Shiite values.“Shia militia group says it will topple any Iraqi gov. hostile to Iran in ‘weeks,’” Kurdistan 24, August 6, 2019, https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/bf35833b-2b55-4df3-b6ec-1a4cf5da2d78.

Shammary is loyal to the Iranian regime, even above his native Iraq. Nujaba adheres to the Khomeinist doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih, or Guardianship of the Jurist, which places religious oversight over all aspects of the government.Ali Hashem, “Iraq’s Shiite forces claim victory over IS,” Al-Monitor, March 16, 2015, https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/03/iraq-shiite-hezbollah-nujaba-victory-islamic-state.html; Babak Dehghanpisheh, “The Iraqi militia helping Iran carve a road to Damascus,” Reuters, September 22, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/mideast-crisis-iraq-nujaba/. Nujaba Secretary-General Akram al-Kaabi has declared that he would follow any order from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, including overthrowing the Iraqi government.“State Department Terrorist Designation of Harakat al-Nujaba (HAN) and Akram ‘Abbas al-Kabi,” U.S. Department of State, March 5, 2019, https://www.state.gov/state-department-terrorist-designation-of-harakat-al-nujaba-han-and-akram-abbas-al-kabi/. After meeting with former secretary of the Iranian National Security Council Saeed Jalili in Tehran in August 2019. Shammari threatened that any Iraqi government that takes a step against Iran would be topped within weeks.“Shia militia group says it will topple any Iraqi gov. hostile to Iran in ‘weeks,’” Kurdistan 24, August 6, 2019, https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/bf35833b-2b55-4df3-b6ec-1a4cf5da2d78.

On January 3, 2020, a U.S. airstrike in Iraq killed Kata’ib Hezbollah leader and PMF deputy commander Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, a.k.a. Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, and Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. On January 7, Iraqi militant groups called for a joint response to the United States. Shammary issued a statement that the PMF will regroup into a single entity to confront Washington, which he accused of heading a “war against the resistance.”Agence France-Presse, “Iraqi armed factions call meeting to begin anti-US fight,” Jordan Times (Amman) January 7, 2020, http://www.jordantimes.com/news/region/iraqi-armed-factions-call-meeting-begin-anti-us-fight. Shammary promised to “wage a war against the American presence in all parts of the region that we can reach,” claiming thousands of U.S. Marines were within range.Agence France-Presse, “Iraqi armed factions call meeting to begin anti-US fight,” Jordan Times (Amman) January 7, 2020, http://www.jordantimes.com/news/region/iraqi-armed-factions-call-meeting-begin-anti-us-fight. On January 13, Shammary attended a meeting in Qom, Iran, between Iraqi militant leaders and Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr to create what Shammary called a “united resistance” to extricate U.S. and other foreign troops from Iraq.Arwa Ibrahim, “Sadr calls for ‘million-man march’ against US presence in Iraq,” Al Jazeera, January 15, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/sadr-calls-million-man-march-presence-iraq-200114180201883.html.

Also Known As

Extremist entity
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
Read Threat Report
Type(s) of Organization:
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), “special forces”
Ideologies and Affiliations:
Iranian-sponsored, Shiite, Jihadist, Khomeinist, global Islamist revolutionary
Position(s):
Deputy secretary-general

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba (HHN) is an Iranian-backed, U.S.-designated militia formed in 2013 by Akram al-Kaabi, co-founder of the IRGC-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH).

  • Rhetoric

May 6, 2023

“Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba does not adhere to any political agreement that includes a ceasefire or reduction of tensions with American occupation forces. Our official position concerning the deployment of US forces to Iraq has not changed at all.

“We reiterate once again that the occupation forces are a legitimate target in Iraq and elsewhere across the West Asian region as long as they are present in Iraqi territories.”“Iraqi resistance group: 5,000 operations carried out against occupying US forces,” Press TV, May 7, 2023, https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/05/07/702899/Iraqi-resistance-group-operations-against-US-occupiers.

Apr. 2022

Interview with Newsweek:

“The Islamic resistance movement Al-Nujaba has strong relations and high coordination with the Lebanese resistance and the Palestinian resistance movements. And the goal of the Axis of Resistance is clear and specific, which is to support the oppressed, eliminate global arrogance and work hard to liberate Palestine and expel the Zionist occupation.”Tom O’Connor, “Amid Unrest in Israel, Iraq’s Iran Allies Tout Missiles That Can Hit Foe,” Newsweek, April 29, 2022, https://www.newsweek.com/amid-unrest-israel-iraqs-iran-allies-tout-missiles-that-can-hit-foe-1702211.

Nov. 2021

“The Iraqi resistance was earlier than the Afghans in forcing the United States to withdraw from Iraq in 2011. And today the Iraqi resistance is stronger and more numerous.”Tom O’Connor, “Iraq Militias, Seeing Taliban’s Success, Plan to Force U.S. Troops Out After Dec. 31,” Newsweek, November 22, 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/iraq-militias-seeing-talibans-success-plan-force-us-troops-out-after-dec-31-1652065.

May 2019

“Our battle in the region against the US will continue until the end of their occupation and the destruction of the Occupying Regime (of Israel).”“Iraq’s Nujaba Says to Continue Fight against US until End of Occupation,” Tasnim News Agency, May 20, 2019, https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/05/20/2015451/iraq-s-nujaba-says-to-continue-fight-against-us-until-end-of-occupation.

Aug. 2019

“[The] Americans know that if any Iraqi government takes a step against Iran, it will be toppled in some few ‎weeks.”“Shia militia group says it will topple any Iraqi gov. hostile to Iran in ‘weeks,’” Kurdistan 24, August 6, 2019, https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/bf35833b-2b55-4df3-b6ec-1a4cf5da2d78.

Nov. 27, 2019

“Based on our religious duty and principles, we believe that there is an inevitable confrontation with Israel. Therefore, we surely will take part in such a war against the Zionist entity alongside the other movements, on top of which is the Lebanese Hezbollah. If there had been a war between Hezbollah and Syria at one front and Israel at another front, we would be at the front of the Mujahideen who fight Israel in order to regain the rights of the Arab and Islamic nations.”“Iraq’s pro-Iran movement to take part in any war against Israel,” Middle East Monitor, November 28, 2019, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20191128-iraqs-pro-iran-movement-to-take-part-in-any-war-against-israel/.

Dec. 30, 2019

“We did not fear America when it was in Iraq with all its capabilities. We fought it for more than eight years. We caused thousands of American casualties and destroyed all their military capabilities. America was defeated, and it will be defeated again and again, ten times over. Iraq is not a land suitable for the United States. They know this. The U.S. occupied several countries in the world for decades. In some countries, it remained for 50 or 60 years, but when facing the Iraqi resistance, it did not last more than eight years.”“Nasser Al-Shammari, Deputy Sec.-Gen. of Iraqi Hizbullah Al-Nujaba Movement Responds to U.S. Strikes Against Iran-Backed Militias in Iraq: We Have the Right to Target Americans Wherever They May be Found,” MEMRI, December 30, 2019, https://www.memri.org/tv/nasser-shammari-dep-sec-gen-iraqi-hizbullah-nujaba-america-defeat-several-times-over-expel-region.

Dec. 30, 2019

“We did not fear America when it was in Iraq with all its capabilities. We fought it for more than eight years. We caused thousands of American casualties and destroyed all their military capabilities. America was defeated, and it will be defeated again and again, ten times over. Iraq is not a land suitable for the United States. They know this. The U.S. occupied several countries in the world for decades. In some countries, it remained for 50 or 60 years, but when facing the Iraqi resistance, it did not last more than eight years.”“Nasser Al-Shammari, Deputy Sec.-Gen. of Iraqi Hizbullah Al-Nujaba Movement Responds to U.S. Strikes Against Iran-Backed Militias in Iraq: We Have the Right to Target Americans Wherever They May be Found,” MEMRI, December 30, 2019, https://www.memri.org/tv/nasser-shammari-dep-sec-gen-iraqi-hizbullah-nujaba-america-defeat-several-times-over-expel-region.

Jan. 7, 2020

“We will regroup the forces of the resistance in a single entity to respond to Washington.

…

“The American aggression against the Hashed Al Shaabi has marked the beginning of the war against the resistance.

…

“We will wage a war against the American presence in all parts of the region that we can reach. Thousands of Marines are present in possible targets.”Agence France-Presse, “Iraqi armed factions call meeting to begin anti-US fight,” Jordan Times (Amman) January 7, 2020, http://www.jordantimes.com/news/region/iraqi-armed-factions-call-meeting-begin-anti-us-fight.

May 13, 2019

“Confrontation with the United States will only stop once it is eliminated from the region, along with the Zionist entity.”Abu Adnan Zeed, “Iraqi Factions a Wild Card in US-Iran Blame Game,” Al-Monitor, May 18, 2019, https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/05/iraq-us-troops-iran-nujaba.html.

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Daily Dose

Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

In Their Own Words:

We reiterate once again that the brigades will directly target US bases across the region in case the US enemy commits a folly and decides to strike our resistance fighters and their camps [in Iraq].

Abu Ali al-Askari, Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) Security Official Mar. 2023
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