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On February 3, 2025, "Putin's Friends in Iraq," a Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq and supportive of Russia, eulogized an Iraqi national, Hussayn Sadiq Muhsin Al-Qurra Lusi, who was killed in battle while fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine.[1]
Sharing a photo of him in military gear inside a military barracks, the channel praised Al-Qurra Lusi as a "martyr" who died fighting "NATO thugs in Ukraine."
The channel also noted that Al-Qurra Lusi had been a student in Russia before he volunteered to fight with Russian forces against "America's expansionism into Russian lands."
"May his family and loved ones find solace, and may his brave soul live in glory and everlastingness," the channel wrote.
It is notable that in May 2023, Telegram channels affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq eulogized another Iraqi national, Abbas Abu Dharr Witwit, who was recruited from prison and later killed fighting with the Russian Wagner Group in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Following his death, Russia's Wagner Group paid homage to Witwit by presenting a medal of honor to his father.[2]
The death of Witwit and Hussayn Sadiq Muhsin Al-Qurra Lusi are some of the few confirmed cases of Middle Eastern fighters dying in the Russia-Ukraine war, fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
[1] Telegram, February 3, 2025.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Iraqi National Killed In Ukraine Was Recruited From Prison By Russian Wagner Group; Iran-Backed Pro-Russia Outlet Decries Claim As 'Western Propaganda', June 1, 2023.
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