Liwa Zainebiyoun

Liwa Zainebiyoun لواء زينبیون
Participant in the Syrian Civil War
Official Flag of Liwa Zainabiyoon
Active	late 2014 – present
Ideology	Shia Jihadism
Area of operations	Damascus Aleppo Daraa
Strength	"Several hundred" - 1,000
Allies	Syrian Armed Forces Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Hezbollah Liwa Fatemiyoun
Opponents	Free Syrian Army Islamic Front al-Nusra Front Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Battles and wars	Battle of Aleppo

The Followers of Zainab Brigade (لواء زينبیون, Liwa Zainebiyoun or Liwa Zainabiyoon) is a pro-government brigade fighting in Syria composed of Shia Pakistanis. It draws recruits from Shia Pakistanis living in Iran, Shia Hazara refugees 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, it has since entered frontlines across Syria. Its dead are buried primarily in Iran.

Pakistanis have been fighting in Syria since 2013. They originally fought in the Afghan Liwa Fatemiyoun, and only became numerous enough to warrant a distinct brigade in early 2015. Like other Shia foreign brigades in Syria, it is funded, trained, and overseen by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Its official purpose is to defend the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque (the shrine of Zaynab bint Ali, sister of Imam Hussain and granddaughter of Mohammed) and other Shia holy sites in Syria. It operates primarily in Damascus defending these holy sites. However, since 2015, it has also engaged in offensive action around Daraa and Aleppo, along with other foreign Shia fighters.