The al-Abbas Brigade (Abu al-Fadhel al-Abbas Brigade) has served as the primary front group for Iranian-backed combatants and organizations based in Iraq. It was the first prominent  Shi`a militia in Syria and announced its presence to the world via a music video and Facebook posts. The group is suspected to have connections to Lebanese Hizb Allah and other Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi`a groups, such as Kataib Hizb Allah