The Jan. 24 demonstrations against US forces where Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on his followers to pull out of anti-government protests likely received an assist from Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba. The movement has been seeking to bridge gaps between a variety of rival Shiite movements following the assassinations of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chief of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba has been gaining greater prominence in part because of the appearances of its general secretary, Akram al-Kaabi, with Brig. Gen. Esmail Ghaani, Soleimani's successor. In the first week of January, a photo was circulated of Kaabi with Ghaani; this was one of the first of an Iraqi leader from the Iran-led "axis-of-resistance" with Ghaani and reflected Kaabi’s continued commitment to the Quds Force. Kaabi was also pictured with Soleimani several times in recent years.
