The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On December 24, 2023, the "Sabereen News" Telegram channel, which supports Iran-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militias, published a poster[1] depicting the late General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, the deputy leader of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), along with the caption "The Two Fathers of This Resistance." The two officials were killed in a U.S. airstrike at the Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020.
Writing: "The enemy wants the memories of the martyrs to be forgotten. The enemy wants the memories of this jihad and courage to be erased from the nation's memory. Everyone must go in the exact opposite direction of these wishes," the channel accompanied the post with the Arabic hashtag #The_Two_Fathers_Of _This_Resistance, noting that "the fourth martyrdom anniversary of the commanders of victory" is approaching.
Later that day, Sabereen claimed that "only one day after the launch of the hashtag campaign #The_Two_Fathers_Of _This_Resistance," posts containing the hashtag had received 1.5 million views on TikTok and 35,600 posts on X (formerly Twitter) had been published featuring it, making it trending in Iraq.[2]
Images showing a selection of posts featuring the hashtag on X and TikTok can be seen below.
Images and quotations of Soleimani and Al-Muhandis feature prominently in posters by Iran-backed militias in Iraq, particularly in the context of threats against the U.S. and calls to expel American troops from Iraq.[3]
[1] Twitter, December 25, 2023.
[2] Twitter, December 25, 2023.
[3] For recent examples, see MEMRI JTTM Reports: Telegram Channel Supporting Iran-Backed Militias In Iraq Releases Video Threatening To Forcibly Evict American Forces From Iraq, September 21, 2023; Telegram Channel Supporting Iran-Backed Militias In Iraq Celebrates Hamas Attack On Israel: 'Israel Is Approaching Its Death,' 'Zionist Entity Is Dying', October 10, 2023; and Iran-Backed 'Islamic Resistance In Iraq' Claims Three Separate Attacks On U.S. Base In Anbar; Affiliated Telegram Outlets Post Video Showing Explosions In Harir Base After Second Drone Attack, November 9, 2023.
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