From Qusair to Yabrud: Shiite foreign fighters in Syria

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — On Feb. 13, Ali Barakat uploaded a video to YouTube titled “Nasheed: Nasr bi-Yabrud,” or “Anthem: Victory in Yabrud.” Yabrud, a Syrian town about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Damascus, is the site of a battle between rebel groups and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, who are supported by Shiite militant factions, including Hezbollah. The video shows footage of the conflict in Syria — advancing troops, firing tanks, a countryside in smoke — set to a pulsing pop song whose refrain promises, “I will decide your victory in Yabrud.” Barakat is a Lebanese singer and proud Hezbollah advocate. As of Feb. 18, the song has attracted more than 40,000 views and hundreds of comments pledging fealty to Hezbollah and wishing death upon its enemies.

This video — and thousands of other videos, photos, Facebook testimonials and websites like it — bear witness to a rapidly growing and little-understood phenomenon emerging in war-torn Syria. The Syrian revolution has ushered in the return of global Shiite jihad to the political arena, with an increasing number of Shiite militants arriving in Syria from around the world. Most of these fighters come from Iraq and Lebanon, with their numbers supplemented by recruits from Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and some African countries. Scholars and journalists have not yet tackled the issue of Shiite militancy in depth. Most current research on the militants fighting in the Syrian revolution focuses on al-Qaeda and other non-Shiite organizations.