Kata'ib Sayyid ul-Shuhada
The Master of Martyrs Battalion, better known as Kata'ib Sayyid ul-Shuhada' and officially the 14th Brigade, is an Shia Iraqi paramilitary group formed in 2013. Its stated mission is to protect " shrines across the globe", preserve "Iraqi unity" and to "put an end to the sectarian conflict". KSS is funded, trained and equipped by IRGC's Quds Force and Hezbollah.
The group has been described as an Iranian proxy, and is one of the original militias that formed the Popular Mobilization Forces in 2014. The group has close ties to Badr Organization and the IRGC.
KSS is also active in Syria, where its main focus is the protection of the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in a southern suburb of Damascus. It militarily supports the Syrian government and participates in the Syrian Civil War. It notably engaged in the Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin where it fought alongside Syrian government forces.
On November 17, 2023, KSS and its leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji were declared Specially Designated Global Terrorists under the counterterrorism authority Executive Order 13224 by the United States. Additionally, al-Saraji was placed on Office of Foreign Assets Control's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.