
Last modified: 2024-06-22 by ian macdonald
Keywords: syria | zainab brigade | 
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 image located by William Garrison, 22 October 2017
image located by William Garrison, 22 October 2017
 image located by William Garrison, 2 August 2023
image located by William Garrison, 2 August 2023
Seen at 
https://twitter.com/herrynapit/status/1352358912247230466, caption: "Zainabiyoun 
Brigade" consisting of Pakistani Shia-Muslims, trained in Iran by IRGC Quds 
Force to fight on behalf of Iran in Iraq and Syria; c. Jan. 2021. "Zainabiyoun" 
in Arabic (زَّيْنَبِيُون) appears just below the pictured center logo.
William Garrison, 4 July 2017
Zainebiyoun flag, (Zainab Brigade}, Shia militia unit supporting Pres. Assad's government, c. 2017.
The Followers of Zainab Brigade (لواء زينبیون, Liwa Zainebiyoun or Liwa Zainabiyoon) is a pro-government (Pres. Assad) brigade fighting in Syria composed of Shia Pakistanis. It draws recruits from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran, Shia Hazara living in Pakistan, and native Shia of Parachinar and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It was formed and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and operates under their command. Initially tasked with defending the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque (southern Damascus, Syria), it has since entered frontlines across Syria.
Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque: a Shia-Muslim mosque located in the city of Sayyidah 
Zaynab, in the southern suburbs of Damascus, Syria. According to Shia Muslim 
tradition, the mosque contains the grave of Zaynab, the daughter of ‘Alī and 
Fātimah and granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad. [Sunni Muslim tradition 
places Zaynab's tomb in the mosque of the same name in Cairo, Egypt.] The tomb 
became a center of Shia religious studies in Syria and a destination of mass 
pilgrimage by Shia Muslims from across the Muslim world, beginning in the 1980s.
 
William Garrison, 
22 October 2017
The flag is also found at
https://www.iimsr.eu/post/pakistani-intelligence-worries-about-its-returning-shiite-fighters-demobilized-by-tehran.
A variation of the flag for the Shia-Muslim militia " Liwa Zainebiyoun" 
or "Zainab Brigade" operating in Syria; the large Arabic word near the 
middle-bottom of the flag reads (right-to-left): "Zainebiyoun"; c. 2021.
 William Garrison, 2 
August 2023
 image located by William Garrison, 21 October 2023
image located by William Garrison, 21 October 2023
A variant of the "Zainab Brigades" or "Zainabiyoun Brigades" flag; c. 2005. 
The bottom Arabic line on this flag reads: "Zainabiyoun: Islamic Resistance in 
the World". There is a flag-pole sleeve at the right (hoist).
 William Garrison, 21 
October 2023
 image located by William Garrison, 1 November 2023
image located by William Garrison, 1 November 2023
A vertical flag variation of the "Zainab Brigades" or "Zainabiyoun"; c. March 
2017. Starting below the logo, the Arabic script reads: "Zainabiyoun ... the 
Islamic resistance in the world ... We are here for you, Oh, Zainab." The 
brigade is made up of Pakistani Shia-Muslims, recruited by Iran's "Islamic 
Revolutionary Guard Corps", who are supporting the Pres. Assad regime.  
Source:
https://diyaruna.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_di/features/2017/03/10/feature-03
William Garrison, 1 November 2023
 image located by William Garrison, 6 
June 2017
 image located by William Garrison, 6 
June 2017
This group, "Followers of Zainab Brigade (لواء زينبیون, Liwa Zainebiyoun or 
Liwa Zainabiyoon) is a pro-government brigade fighting in Syria and composed of 
Shia Pakistanis". It was established in late 2014. It was formed and trained by 
the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and operates under 
their command. Initially tasked with defending the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque (in 
Damascus), it has since entered frontlines across Syria. Pakistanis have been 
fighting in Syria since 2013, but the group started around November 2014. They 
originally fought in the Afghan Liwa Fatemiyoun, and only became numerous enough 
to warrant a distinct brigade in early 2015".
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liwa_Zainebiyoun 
https://iraqeye.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/liwa-zainebiyoun-syrias-pakistani-fighters/
and
https://jamestown.org/program/the-zainabiyoun-brigade-a-pakistani-shiite-militia-amid-the-syrian-conflict/
Here's another picture of the flag:
https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/Content/Upload/Slider/3201751899423588389.jpg, 
(source:
http://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/story/7773/Iran-detains-Zainebiyoun-militia-leader-in-Qom
Esteban Rivera, 6 June 2017