In brief, Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib (The Conquering Lion of God Brigade) is an Iraqi-led faction founded and based in Syria. To explore the history of the group further, I decided to conduct an interview with Hassanain Naji al-Mousawi, a member of Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib and brother of the group's leader Aqeel Naji al-Mousawi. The interview touches on some important matters:
(i) In my view, observers have not sufficiently appreciated that Iraqis who were already living in Syria were the foundations of the Iraqi-led groups that emerged in the Damascus area to fight in support of the Syrian government.
(ii) As some other groups have adopted similar names, there has been confusion regarding Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib's history.
(iii) The problematic way in which terms like 'Iranian proxy' and 'Iranian-backed' are thrown around. Observers should do away with the automatic assumption that a group must be backed by Iran simply because it identifies with Iran ideologically or has an Iranian flag in its office. More objectivity is needed with a willingness to explore fairly how various groups develop and form relationships with other entities over time.
Note: this interview was conducted during this month. A couple of the questions have been reordered for clarity. Note that Sayyid is an honorific title for Aqeel Naji al-Mousawi. Explanatory insertions are in square brackets.