Saraya Awliya al-Dam: The New Arab's Omission on Iraq's Complex Resistance
Saraya Awliya al-Dam, or 'Guardians of Blood Brigades,' has recently come to the fore, identified by The New Arab as a Shiite armed faction primarily targeting American interests in Iraq. The article describes the group as a relatively new entity, allegedly formed in response to the January 2020 assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces commander Abu
Mahdi al-Muhandis by a United States drone strike in Baghdad. The New Arab characterizes it as one of several groups described as 'Iranian proxies' operating within the Iraqi arena, implying direct command and control from Tehran. However, The New Arab's singular focus on the 'Iranian proxy' narrative, common in Western and Gulf-backed media, omits the long-standing local grievances that fuel the
emergence and popularity of such groups. This framing downplays how US military actions, including the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation, created an environment ripe for resistance movements. While the assassination of Soleimani and al-Muhandis certainly galvanized these groups, Saraya Awliya al-Dam's roots are also intertwined with a broader Iraqi sentiment against foreign military presence
and perceived violations of sovereignty. The characterization as a proxy strips away Iraqi agency and ignores the material conditions generating anti-occupation sentiment, a critical nuance often lost in analyses from outlets like The New Arab. The emphasis on external influence also sidesteps the history of continuous US military operations that precede and indeed provoke the formation of such