Quds Force using militants in Iraq – Part 4

6. Restructuring the Badr forces

- On June 19^th a group of Quds Force commanders went to the 9^th Badr office in Baghdad’s Jaderiye district and then went off to inspect various areas of the Iraqi capital. Abu Maryam Ansari, Hadi al-Ameri’s deputy was accompanying this group.

- Under orders issued by Qassem Suleimani the retired Badr commanders that were recalled in these circumstances received promotions, special wages and premiums. For example, former lieutenant colonels were appointed as colonels.

- On July 17^th al-Ameri transferred a number of battalions prepared for operations in Diyala and they were stationed in various regions in this province.

- On July 18^th a Quds Force command delegation went to Diyala Province along with al-America and they inspected all areas where militants affiliated to Quds Force were stationed. This delegation, consisting of a senior Quds Force officer by the name of Ghassemi, al-Ameri, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes and the Katayeb Hezbollah commander visited the city of Khalis and the paths leading to the town region of Azim and the town of Meqdadiya.

- Following the inspection of Quds Force commanders of Diyala Province, a 5-man team of Quds Force experts stationed in 9^th Badr base in Khalis. This team was led by an individual by the name of Amir.

- A number of Quds Force combat commanders stationed in Baghdad evaluated the situation on the grounds in the battlefronts. A large number of retired Badr commanders were working with and under the command of these Quds Force combat commanders.

- In close coordination with senior Quds Force commanders al-Mohandes played a key role in structuring and organizing Badr and other militant forces. He embedded his forces – considering their experience in terrorist attacks – with Badr militants.

- al-Mohandes is the Quds Force representative in contact with other Iraqi militant groups linked to the Quds Force. He is the senior Quds Force commander of the Quds Force security apparatus in Baghdad, working closely with a team of expert personnel in this force.

- Under orders issued by al-Mohandes, all volunteers in government institutions must quit their jobs and join the Badr forces fulltime. A wage of 625,000 dinars was specified as their monthly salary and this was in addition to the wages they received in their government jobs.

- al-Mohandis was in charge of all coordination between Asaeb, Katayeb and 9^th Badr militias and he carried out Quds Force orders in Baghdad in coordination with Abu Maryam Ansari (al-Ameri’s deputy).

- Abu Maryam Ansari, deputy Secretary-General of the Badr forcers, has divided Baghdad and other provinces to several regions based on control and protection standards. This segmentation of various areas and the names of their commanders are as follows:

- Karkh district in Baghhdad - under the command of Abu Sadeq al-Muwali and Abu Jasem al-Askari, two retired Badr commanders

- Rasafe district in Baghdad, 1^st Rasafe (including Hay al-Awar and Sadr City to Hosseiniye) – under the command of Abu Ali al-Jizawi

- Rasafe district in Baghdad, 2^nd Rasafe (including Palestine Avenue, Ziyune, Baghdad Jadida and the Sadd district) – under the command of Seyed Ali Alaq

- South Baghdad – under the command of Abu Montazer al-Hosseini and Abu Hisham al-Ahmadi

- North axis from Kirkuk to Mosul – under the command of Abu Ayub al-Bayati

- Samara region in Salahadin Province – under the command of former 9^th Badr commander Abu Ali al-Basari (retired Badr commander in Iran). His deputy is Abu Jafar al-Lami and he too was a retired Badr commander and Quds Force element.

- Diyala Province – under the command of Badr Secretary-General Hadi al-Ameri, then Maliki’s Minister of Road & Transportation

Based on Khamenei’s recommendations the Quds Force intends to establish a unit similar to the Revolutionary Guards alongside Iraq’s army, police and security forces. They are waiting for the structure and formation of the militants’ military units to be stabilized, and to have the necessary political preparations carried out, and to finally have the Iraq Revolutionary Guards announce its establishment through Maliki’s government.

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