Mukhtar Army

Mukhtar Army
Participant in the Iraqi insurgency
The flag of the Mukhtar Army. The flag is identifical to the flag of Hezbollah, except for the text under the emblem, with the Muktar Army flag featuring the line "النهضة الاسلامية في العراق" (The Islamic Renaissance in Iraq).
Active	February 2013 - present
Ideology	Shia Islamism Wilayat al Faqih
Leaders	Wathiq al-Battat †
Allies	Iran (Claimed by Battat, denied by the IRGC)

The Mukhtar Army is a Shi'a Iraqi militia group formed in February 2013 by Wathiq al-Battat, a former senior official in the Hezbollah Brigades. Al-Battat pledged his loyalty to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Al-Battat was arrested briefly on 2 January 2014 but was released despite still being a fugitive. He was apparently "accidentally assassinated" at point-blank range on 20 December 2014 at a fake police checkpoint in eastern Iraq by an unknown party.

On 4 February 2013, al-Battat announced the formation of the Mukhtar Army with the stated purpose of protecting Iraq's Shi'as, and to assist the government in combating terrorism. He stated that the Mukhtar Army would prevent any Sunnis controlled by al-Qaeda or other militant sectarian groups from attempting to topple the Shi'a-led government in Iraq.

In a phone interview with the Associated Press, Al-Battat said that the group receives weapons and other support from Iran, and is advised by the Quds Force, a special unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that oversees its external operations. He describes himself as a follower of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran.

An IRGC official dismissed suggestions it supports any armed group in Iraq, saying that such "claims are aimed at defaming the Guard. We do not see any reason to respond to such baseless claims." A spokesperson for the Hezbollah Brigades also distanced his group from al-Battat and the Mukhtar Army, stating that al-Battat "is not affiliated with the Hezbollah Brigades in any way whatsoever."

Ahmed Abu Risha, the head of the Sunni Anbar Salvation Council, argues that the Mukhtar Army was created with Iraqi government consent to silence Sunni-led protests that began in December 2012.

A few days after the group's formation, the Iraqi government issued an arrest warrant against al-Battat. Speaking on 9 February 2013, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on Iraqi citizens to cooperate with security forces in disclosing the whereabouts of al-Battat in order to arrest him as soon as possible.