OVERVIEW

Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya’

Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya’ (HAAA) is an Iran-backed Iraqi Shia militia and US-designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO) that killed three US servicemembers in an attack on a US military base in Jordan in 2024. HAAA identifies itself as a member of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed militias that formed to attack US forces and Israel after the onset of the Israel-HAMAS conflict.

HAAA began as a political organization in 2013, then formed a militant wing in 2014. The group’s fighters are part of the 19th Brigade of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Committee (PMC), a component of Iraq’s security forces. HAAA closely follows the guidance of Iran’s Supreme Leader and has longstanding ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps–Qods Force (IRGC-QF).

OPERATING AREAS
Iraq

MEMBERS
Unknown

TACTICS AND TARGETS
Since at least 2019, HAAA has attacked US bases and military personnel in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria and has kidnapped Iraqi politicians and killed Iraqi protestors. The group has also publicly threatened to attack Israel. Iran’s IRGC-QF helps to fund, train, and equip HAAA. The group is well equipped with small arms and probably armored vehicles through its PMC membership. HAAA also probably has access to rockets and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATION
The US State Department designated HAAA and its leader, Haydar Muzhir Ma’lak al-Sa’idi—also known as Haydar al-Gharawi—as Specially Designated Global Terrorists in 2024, and it designated HAAA as an FTO in September 2025.

KEY LEADERS

NOTABLE ATTACKS