View source for 1920 Revolution Brigades

{{Short description|Sunni militia group in Iraq}}
{{distinguish|Saraya Thawrat al-Eshreen al-Thaniya}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox war faction
| name = 1920 Revolution Brigades
| native_name = كتائب ثورة العشرين
| native_name_lang = ar
| war =
| image = Logo of 1920 Revolution Brigade.gif
| image_size = 200
| caption = 1920 Revolution Brigade emblem
| active = 2003–2015<ref name="Stanford">{{Cite web |title=1920s Revolution Brigades |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/print_view/9 |website=web.stanford.edu |series=Mapping Militant Organizations}}</ref>
| ideology = [[Iraqi nationalism]]<br />[[Sunni Islamism]]
| slogan = A Victory from Allah and an Imminent Liberation
| leaders = [[Harith Zahir Khamis al-Dhari]]{{KIA}}(2003–2005)
<br />[[Aswad Kamil Al-Falahi]]{{KIA}}(2005–2007)<ref name=Stanford/><br />[[Abdalah al-Ani]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 September 2011 |title=Entrevista exclusiva als insurgents iraquians de les Brigades de la Revolució del 1920 – 1a PART - |url=https://blocs.mesvilaweb.cat/arabislam/entrevista-exclusiva-als-insurgents-iraquians-de-les-brigades-de-la-revolucio-del-1920-1a-part/ |website=Blocs de VilaWeb |language=es}}</ref>
| clans =
| headquarters = [[Al Anbar Province]]
| area = [[Al Anbar Province]]
| size =
| partof =
| predecessor =
| successor = [[Hamas of Iraq|Islamic Conquest]]<br />Islamic Jihad<ref>{{Cite web |title=SITE Institute: SITE Publications – Twentieth Revolution Brigades and Hamas of Iraq Individually Claim Downing American Helicopters in Baghdad, Video of Bombing Troop Transporter |url=http://siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications271907&Category=publications&Subcategory=0 |website=siteinstitute.org}}</ref>
| opponents = {{flagicon image|Flag of Multi-National Force – Iraq.png}} [[Multinational force in Iraq|Coalition]]<br />{{flag|Iraq}}<br />{{USA}}<br />{{flag|Israel}}<br />{{flagdeco|ISIL}} [[Islamic State of Iraq]]<br />{{flagicon image|Kata'ib Hezbollah sans logo.JPG}} [[Kata'ib Hezbollah]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kata'ib Hezbollah |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/print_view/361 |series=Mapping Militant Organizations}}</ref>
| battles = {{tree list}}
* [[Iraq War]]
** [[Iraqi insurgency (2003-2011)]]
*** [[Anbar campaign (2003–2011)]]
*** [[First Battle of Fallujah]]
*** [[Battle of Najaf (2004)]]
*** [[Second Battle of Fallujah]]
*** [[Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)]]
**** [[Islamic Army–Al-Qaeda conflict]]
* [[War in Iraq (2013-2017)]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=1920s Revolution Brigades |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/print_view/9#note2 |website=web.stanford.edu |series=Mapping Militant Organizations}}</ref>
{{tree list/end}}
| url =
}}

The '''1920 Revolution Brigades''' ({{langx|ar|كتائب ثورة العشرين|Kitā'ib Thawrat al-ʿIshrīn|Brigades of the Revolution of the Twenty'}}) was a [[Sunni]] militant and insurgent group in [[Iraq]], formed by former members of the disbanded Saddam-era [[Iraqi Armed Forces|Iraqi military]], following the 2003 [[2003 invasion of Iraq|American invasion of Iraq]]. The group had used [[improvised explosive device]]s, and armed attacks against [[Multi-National Force – Iraq|U.S.-led Coalition forces]] and comprises the military wing of the [[Kata'ib Hezbollah|Islamic Resistance Movement]]. The group was named in reference to the [[Iraqi Revolt|Iraqi revolt of 1920]].

== Allegiances ==
A U.S. military spokesman states that the {{qi|concerned local nationals}} group is now aligned with U.S. forces,<ref name="WashPost">{{Cite news |date=25 August 2007 |title=U.S. rebrands Iraq ex-insurgents |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/25/AR2007082500638.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102230336/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/25/AR2007082500638.html |archive-date=2 November 2012 |access-date=29 August 2007 |work=The Washington Post}}</ref> while the Brigades denied this in a posting on its web site: {{qi|We say to... the occupation and to your followers and agents that you made a very big lie}} in linking the group with the [[Diyala campaign|Diyala anti-al Qaeda campaign]].<ref name="mcclatchydc.com">{{Cite web |title=Offensives elsewhere, but Baghdad remains deadliest for U.S. troops |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/17302.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001937/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/17302.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 |access-date=26 August 2007}}</ref> The group maintains that the "[[Hamas of Iraq|Iraqi Hamas]]" organization, which consisted of members who left the Brigades before the Diyala operation, were the ones involved in the operation.<ref name="UrukNet">{{Cite web |title=Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Sunday, 26 August 2007 |url=http://uruknet.info/?p=m35715&s1=h1 |access-date=29 August 2007}}</ref><ref name="BrigadeMemo">{{Cite web |title=1920 Revolution Brigade memo denying involvement in Diyala Operations |url=http://www.islammemo.cc/article1.aspx?id=49719 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828232342/http://www.islammemo.cc/article1.aspx?id=49719 |archive-date=28 August 2007 |access-date=29 August 2007}}</ref> Iraqi Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]] has feared such U.S.-armed '[[Sons of Iraq|concerned local citizens]]' are an armed Sunni opposition in the making, and has argued that such groups should be under the command of the Iraqi Army or police.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US buys 'concerned citizens' in Iraq, but at what price? |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iMzKGlyT_ahqRjtyXrAUrKIQLncA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907015324/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iMzKGlyT_ahqRjtyXrAUrKIQLncA |archive-date=7 September 2008 |access-date=4 November 2007}}</ref>

== Activities ==
The 1920 Revolution Brigades describes its aim as to establish a liberated and independent Iraqi state on an Islamic basis. It has been active in the Sunni area west of Baghdad, in the regions of [[Abu Ghraib]], [[Khan Dari]] and [[Fallujah]] and in the governorates of [[Nineveh Governorate|Nineveh]], [[Diyala Governorate|Diyala]] and [[Al Anbar Governorate|al-Anbar]].<ref name="AsiaTimes">{{Cite news |last=Raman |first=B |date=21 January 2005 |title=Kidnappings keep Iraq pot boiling |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GA21Ak03.html |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20100805173306/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GA21Ak03.html |archive-date=5 August 2010 |access-date=24 March 2007 |work=Asia Times}}</ref> The name of the group ({{lit|Brigades of the Revolution of the Twenty}}) refers to the [[Iraqi Revolt|Iraqi revolt of 1920]] against the [[United Kingdom|British]], drawing an implicit parallel between the nationalist movement against Britain with the Iraqi guerrillas fighting against coalition forces in the 21st century. They are the military wing of the [[Kata'ib Hezbollah|Islamic Resistance Movement]]. The logo of the group is a map of Iraq, with a [[Quran]] on top of it, and the verse {{qi|Help from Allah, and an imminent victory}}. In the middle there is a mirrored symbol of an [[AK-47]], with an [[Flag of Iraq|Iraqi flag]] attached to it. Between the gun and the flag, a small print says "Islamic Resistance movement", and below, a larger print reads "Brigades of the 20th Revolution."

== History ==
[[File:Former Emblems of 1920 Revolution Brigade.svg|thumb|Former emblems of the 1920 Revolution Brigade, showing the growing Islamic influences over time.]]
The Brigade first emerged in a 16 July statement in which it claimed that U.S. forces were sustaining higher casualties than were being reported.<ref name="AsiaTimes" /> Since then, it resurfaced periodically, including in graffiti in such insurgent strongholds as [[Fallujah]]. This group appears to concentrate on guerilla activity, rather than terrorism, and is sensitive to the opinions of the established [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]] clergy in Iraq (in contrast to groups such as [[Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad|Jama't al-Tawhid wal-Jihad]]). High-profile operations include the kidnapping of American citizen Dean Sadek in November 2004 and the bombing of the [[Al Arabiya|al-Arabiya]] television network headquarters in Baghdad in October 2005.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 December 2011 |title=Arab TV Airs Tape of U.S. Hostage |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,138359,00.html |publisher=Fox News}}</ref><ref name="MIPT">{{Cite web |date=1 March 2007 |title=1920 Revolution Brigades |url=http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=4438 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218053401/http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=4438 |archive-date=18 February 2007 |access-date=24 March 2007 |website=MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base |publisher=Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism}}</ref> It has also shot down several American helicopters in the Fallujah region.<ref name="AsiaTimes" />

Little is known about the group's leadership. On 2 January 2005, the [[Ministry of Defence (Iraq)]] reported that [[Iraqi security forces]] arrested [[Hatim al-Zawba'i]], whom they identified as a commander of the 1920 Revolution Brigades. In a statement issued on 13 February 2006, the group vowed to "carry on [[jihad]] until the liberation and victory or [until they are] martyred.<ref name="MIPT" /><br />In 2014, after the rise of the [[Islamic State]] in Iraq, the brigades of the 1920 revolution They clarified that they are not allies of the [[Islamic State]], but that if the [[Iranian intervention in Iraq]] killed [[Sunni]] civilians, they would respond with attacks.<ref name=Stanford/>

== Organization split ==
In March 2007 some of its members broke off from the 1920 Revolution Brigades to form [[Hamas of Iraq]]. In a statement issued on 18 March 2007, the 1920 Revolution Brigades stated that it had dissolved into two new brigades, ''Islamic Conquest'' and ''Islamic Jihad''. Islamic Conquest became [[Hamas of Iraq]] and is the name chosen for its military wing. Islamic Jihad took over the name [[Twentieth Revolution Brigades]], promising to uphold its jihadi inheritance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SITE Institute:Twentieth Revolution Brigades and Hamas of Iraq Individually Claim Downing American Helicopters in Baghdad |url=http://siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications271907&Category=publications&Subcategory=0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928061304/http://siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications271907&Category=publications&Subcategory=0 |archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref>

== Relationships with others ==
The 1920 Revolution Brigades has used bombings, kidnappings, and armed attacks against U.S. forces but does not target non-Muslims or Shiites, staying out of the sectarian war. As a result, it has developed a growing rift with [[Al-Qaeda in Iraq|The Jihad Base Organization in Mesopotamia]], which has used suicide bombings to often target [[Shiite]] civilians which they regard as infidels. The 1920 Revolution Brigade turned down an offer to pledge allegiance to an insurgent coalition group, the [[Mujahideen Shura Council (Iraq)|Mujahideen Shura Council]] (MSC), established by the Jihad Base Organization in Mesopotamia.

On 27 March 2007, the leader of the 1920 Revolution Brigade, Harith Dhahir Khamis al-Dari (nephew of the most prominent Sunni Iraqi cleric, Haith al-Dari) was killed in an [[Islamic State of Iraq|ISI]] ambush. Intermittent gun battles have taken place between fighters of the 1920 Revolution Brigades and the [[Islamic State in Iraq]], and rumors have circulated of negotiations between members of the group and the Iraqi government and U.S. forces.

Although the group has used bombings, kidnappings, and armed attacks against U.S. forces, on 20 June 2007, ''The Washington Post'' reported that, per telephone interview with Lt. Col. Joseph Davidson, executive officer of the 2nd Infantry Division, U.S. forces were now {{qi|partnering with Sunni insurgents from the 1920 Revolution Brigades, which includes former members of ousted president Saddam Hussein's disbanded army.}}<ref name="WashPost2">{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=John Ward |last2=Dehima |first2=Salih |date=20 June 2007 |title=Offensive Targets Al-Qaeda in Iraq |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061900315.html |access-date=28 August 2011 |work=The Washington Post |location=Baghdad}}</ref> The group has since replied that: {{qi|We say to ... the occupation and to your followers and agents that you made a very big lie}} in linking us with the Diyala anti-al-Qaeda campaign.<ref name="mcclatchydc.com" /> The group maintains that the organization to which the US military spokesman referred had become the "[[Hamas of Iraq|Iraqi Hamas]]" organization, which consisted of members who left before the Diyala operation and were no longer associated with the 1920 Brigades.<ref name="UrukNet" /><ref name="BrigadeMemo" />

In October 2007, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that the 1920 Revolution Brigades would not join [[Political Council for the Iraqi Resistance|an alliance of six other Iraqi insurgent groups]]. The six groups listed a 14-point political program, including a call for continued action against US forces and a declaration that all laws passed by the Iraq government were null and void. A spokesman for the brigades said it did not join because it did not want to fight with those Sunni tribal groups working with the US against al-Qaeda. The spokesman also denied an ''Economist'' report that the 1920 Revolution Brigades was working with Americans, and insisted the group was still attacking Americans.<ref name="GuardBRAlliance">{{Cite news |last=MacAskill |first=Ewen |date=12 October 2007 |title=Sunni insurgents form alliance against US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,,2189436,00.html |access-date=20 April 2010 |work=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of armed groups in the War in Iraq (2013–2017)|List of armed groups in the Iraqi Civil War]]
* [[Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120503125042/http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/nefa1920brigades1007.pdf October 2007: Statement from the 1920 Revolution Brigades]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160113211959/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=50791 Anti-US Iraqi Resistance Regrouping]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080422074835/http://www.ktb-20.com/ Official Website]

{{Armed Iraqi Groups in the Iraq War and the Iraq Civil War}}
{{Militant Islamism}}

[[Category:Arab militant groups]]
[[Category:Factions in the Iraq War]]
[[Category:Islamist insurgent groups]]
[[Category:Paramilitary organizations based in Iraq]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 2003]]
[[Category:Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)]]
[[Category:Islamic organizations based in Iraq]]
[[Category:Terrorism in Iraq]]
[[Category:2003 establishments in Iraq]]
[[Category:Resistance movements]]
[[Category:Organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood]]