The Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades and the Bahraini Al-Ashqar Brigades… Alliance or Subordination” 1 – 2
Hamed Mahmoud A researcher specializing in Gulf and Iranian affairs
The Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades and the Bahraini Al-Ashqar Brigades… Alliance or Subordination” 1 – 2 ”
Hamed Mahmoud
A researcher specializing in Gulf and Iranian affairs
hamednilenews2020@gmail.com
The strong relationship between exiled Bahraini terrorists and Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq may explain the strange incident in which Saraya al-Ashtar claimed to have launched an attack on Israel.
Last May 2, the Iranian-backed Bahraini terrorist group Saraya al-Ashtar, which is listed on the US terrorist list, claimed that it had launched a drone attack days earlier on the Israeli company Trucknet, based in Eilat. The group threatened to carry out more attacks as long as the Israeli incursion into Gaza continued.
A video clip of the drone launch was posted on April 27 on various social media accounts linked to Bahraini militias, including the “Al Abdal Movement.” The footage shows a number of interesting details:
A Sammad (KAS-04) drone with a V-tail that is launched at dusk, with a mottled gray and white exterior.
This type of Iranian drone has been seen to a lesser extent in Iraq and Syria, but has previously been linked to attacks by the Iraqi resistance group Kataib Hezbollah.
The “Saraya Al-Ashtar” flag planted near the launch site.
A poster showing four members of Saraya al-Ashtar, placed on an electronic device box and on the wings and nose of the drone.The launch team was also wearing smart T-shirts bearing the same composite images of the four men, and it was certainly the most well-equipped terrorist launch cell seen so far. The four men are Reda Al-Rida Al-Ghasra, Mahmoud Youssef, Mustafa Youssef, and Ahmed Al-Malali, all of whom participated in a previous escape from Jaw Prison near Manama.The first three were killed by Bahraini security forces while trying to flee to Iran on a boat in February 2017. The fourth was arrested and executed in July 2019.
Given the open terrain and the slow launch sequence, it is impossible for this drone to have been launched from Bahrain. It is difficult for Iran and Saraya al-Ashtar to smuggle even light weapons to it, given the small size of the main Bahraini islands and their great exposure. The most likely scenario is that Iraqi militias facilitated or even carried out the launch, assigning it to Saraya al-Ashtar, in an attempt to preserve the group’s declining character.
