Non-state allies Foreign intervention in behalf of Syrian rebels U.S.-led intervention against ISIL The Master of Martyrs Battalion, better known as Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada' (KSS; Arabic: كتائب سيد الشهداء, Battalion of the Master of Martyrs) and officially the 14th Brigade, is a Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group formed in 2013.

Its stated mission is to protect "(Shia) shrines across the globe", preserve "Iraqi unity" and to "put an end to the sectarian conflict".

[14] KSS is also active in Syria, where its main focus is the protection of the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque in a southern suburb of Damascus.

[10] On November 17, 2023, KSS and its leader Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji (also known as Abu Ala al-Walai) were declared Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) under the counterterrorism authority Executive Order 13224 by the United States.

[15][16][17][18] Additionally, al-Saraji was placed on Office of Foreign Assets Control's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List.