Database: Identifiers of Designated Islamic Terrorist Organizations

Saraya al-Mukhtar

Not yet designated as terrorist by a Western country

Base of operations: Bahrain

Background: Jihadology

Saraya al-Mukhtar ("Squadrons of al-Mukhtar"; for the name cf. Wathiq al-Battat's Al-Mukhtar Army Iranian proxy militia in Iraq) is a Shi'a Bahraini militant group that has claimed multiple attacks on Bahraini security forces since the end of 2013. On its Twitter feed, the group describes its aims as "towards the greatest liberation of Bahrain without the Khalifa family." Echoing Shi'a militancy elsewhere in the region, Saraya al-Mukhtar places emphasis on the language of muqawama ("resistance"), though no direct links to Iran or Hezbollah have been definitively shown as of yet. The group also ties its activities to the cause of marginalized Shi'a in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Saraya al-Mukhtar Emblem	Saraya al-Mukhtar Graphic