Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam

Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam (Arabic: كتائب روح الله عيسى بن مريم; lit. The Battalion of the Spirit of God Jesus Son of Mary) is an Assyrian militia and subgroup of the Imam Ali Brigades, an Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group. It was first formed and organized during the War in Iraq (2013-17) to fight against ISIL.

Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam
كتائب روح الله عيسى بن مريم
Leaders	Salwan Momika (until 2017) X[1][2]
Dates of operation	2014–present
Allegiance	Iraq
Active regions	Iraq
Ideology	Assyrian nationalism Assyrian interests
Part of	Kata'ib al-Imam Ali
Opponents	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Battles and wars	War in Iraq (2013-17)

History

Kataib Rouh was formed in December 2014 as a Christian subgroup of the Imam Ali Brigades, itself the armed wing of the Islamic Movement of Iraq.^[3] Kataib al-Imam Ali entered the war against ISIL in June 2014 as a predominantly Shiite militia backed by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Upon the formation of the group, Imam Ali Brigades opened a training session for Assyrian irregulars to take part of.^[4]

Indian magazine The Week noted that the group had operated on the outskirts of Mosul from 2017, and that they had also been sanctioned by the U.S. government since 2018.^[5] Amidst other Assyrian militias that took part in the War in Iraq (2013-17), the number of active fighters in Kataib Rouh Allah was likely much smaller.^[6]

Affilitiation with Salwan Momika

The militia was rediscovered after the 2023 Quran burnings in Sweden, when a video surfaced of Salwan Momika delivering a speech addressing the brigade. Momika, an Assyrian from Bakhdida, had previously been connected to Rayan al-Kildani and the Babylon Movement, and had been part of the Syriac Assembly Movement.^[7] In his speech to the brigade, Salwan said:

“We either live with dignity or die courageously. I am the officer in charge of Kata’ib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam (the Brigade of the Spirit of God Jesus, Son of Mary), which is affiliated with the Imam Ali Brigades, peace be upon him,”.^[7][8]

Modern activity

After the liberation of the Nineveh Plains from ISIS, the militia has not had any noteworthy public activity.^[9] In June 2025, the militia was added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List of the United States, alongside the larger Kataib al-Imam Ali group.^[4][10]