120 Commanders

I was surprised when he made his request. Haj Qasem had just reached the southern Suburbs from Damascus. I said, “Haji! It's twelve o'clock at night. Where can I get 120 field commanders?" I do not remember that the General asked me for anything until then. Even for Iran! I felt that the whole world of Haj Qasem was Iraq at that moment and his battle with Daesh. The Iraqi army was not prepared for some of the collapses. But Ayatollah al-Sistani's historic fatwa brought thousands of volunteers to the battlefield. Haj Qasem said, “We have no choice! If we want to fight Daesh and defend the Iraqi people and everything that is our dignity there, we need commanders who organize the volunteer forces." I called the brothers one by one until morning. Some of them were in bed. I provided about sixty commanders. I promised to send the rest in the next two or three days. The adhan (call to prayer) came in the morning when Haj Qasem went to the airport with the field commanders.