Al-Naqib sought to provide the MOI with effective Iraqi constabulary forces after the poor performance of the police in battles against Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

The U.S. military provided arms and logistical support to these units, which proved effective under Minister al-Naqib's stewardship in fighting alongside U.S. forces against Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias.

[6] It was initially under the command of a former three-star Shia general and SCIRI official who went under the nom de guerre of Abu Walid,[7] but whose real name was Mohammad Qureshi.

[8] The Special Police Commando units later formed under the Dawa and SCIRI transitional government in 2005 were based on the model provided by the Wolf Brigade.

[8] Its members dress in garb — olive uniform, red beret, wraparound sunglasses — redolent of Saddam's elite guard; their armband logo is a menacing-looking wolf.

"[16] Yet human rights groups say the Wolf Brigade, because of its counterterrorism television show, is violating the Geneva Conventions by publicly humiliating detainees.

[7] The Wolf Brigade was reportedly responsible for the July seizure of eleven Sunni bricklayers who were then locked in the back of police cars and held for sixteen hours in scorching-hot temperatures.