A new group calling itself Ashab Al Yamim has claimed responsibility for three attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe this week.
The first attack was the bombing of a synagogue in Liege, Belgium, on Monday. This was followed by an attack in Greece on Wednesday and an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Friday.
The group seemingly did not exist before this week and, unusually, does not have its own Telegram or social media channels. Usually, such groups create channels straight away.
Nevertheless, the videos it took of the three respective attacks quickly appeared on Shi’ite axis Telegram channels, such as those associated with Hezbollah or the IRGC. This may suggest a link between Ashab Al Yamim and Iran-related proxy organizations.
The name Ashab Al Yamim translates as Companions of the Right or People of the Right. This does not mean right in the political sense, but rather 'righteous ' or 'just.' Ohad Merlin, MENA researcher at the regional program in MIND Israel, explained to The Jerusalem Post that the Quran often uses right and left as metaphors. The specific Arabic name People of the Right also appears in the Quran in Al Waqi'ah 56:28.
The group's logo depicts an upstretched arm holding a rifle, which is pointing to the right. Behind this is an image of the globe. This logo bears all the hallmarks of the logos of Iranian terror groups or Iranian-led Islamic Resistance groups; Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the IRGC in Iran all feature the same image of a hand holding a rifle pointing rightwards, superimposed on a globe.
One notable divergence with the logo of Ashab Al Yamim is that it features a specific rifle model: a Dragunov rifle. A SVD or Dragunov rifle is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle prized among some groups in the Middle East, but significantly less common in Europe. The other axis groups mentioned use stylized versions of AK rifles.
As mentioned, another parallel is that both the statements and videos made by Ashab Al Yamim appear to have first emerged on online networks associated with the Shi’ite axis of armed groups.
Following the Liege attack, the group published a statement: "In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, 'Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the path of God.' God Almighty has spoken the truth.
"O mujahideen of Islam, O knights of the shadows, defend your religion. Rise, by God’s permission, to jihad in His path. Go forth where darkness takes shelter, and let the light of truth be revealed through your strength, and spread justice and light in every corner of the world. (Badr 1, Badr 2, Fath 6, Khaybar 14) Put your trust in God."
It is common for Islamic Resistance groups to include passages or quotes from the Quran in their statements, as well as high praise for Allah. This particular passage calls for jihad - again, in line with other groups.
The statement has several unusual aspects
"The statement starts with standard praise for God, which looks legitimate or authentic, but the statement is strange. It calls for jihad, yet it lacks a date at the end," Joe Truzman, a Senior Research Analyst at Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) specializing in Palestinian armed groups and Iranian proxy organizations, told The Jerusalem Post.
"Generally, with the Shi’ite armed organizations, or even the front groups, they at least try to look authentic. In their statements, there's always a date at the end, and there are always little statements that these groups say at the end. You don't see that in the statement at all."
If it were just a statement, Truzman said he would likely have dismissed the Liege post. However, the video changed things slightly.
"Either this is a legitimate, authentic statement, and the video is authentic, or it is some criminal or antisemitic group that's trying to cover its tracks. It's very difficult to say."
However, it is worth noting that Iran has an established pattern of using proxy groups to commit acts of terror on its targets abroad. A prominent example would be the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 18 July 1994. 85 people were killed, and over 300 were wounded. In 2024, an Argentine court ruled that Iran directed the attack and that Hezbollah carried it out.
Often, Iran's proxy groups appear out of nowhere and then seemingly disappear after the act of terrorism has been committed.
"Iran has been operating extensively, not only just in the Middle East, but in Europe as well, and obviously, Latin America, so Iran, the IRGC, they have the capabilities to do something like this, Truzman explained.
Iranian proxy organizations and their network of clients in the region have front groups and fake organizations to try to cover or obscure who is really behind an attack.
Another strange aspect is the video. While it does bear the hallmarks of typical terror videos - for example, it uses threatening music and features no spoken voice - the actual content is less violent than normal. Videos by Hezbollah and Hamas typically include more menacing content, but, in the case of Liege, Greece, and Rotterdam, no one was hurt, and the attacks occurred on buildings at night.
Truzman argued that this does still function as propaganda, as "it can create a fear in the minds of the Jewish community." This is especially the case given the ongoing conflict with Iran and given the fact that Iran has threatened to commit acts of terror abroad.
"It is not that these were huge attacks, but at the same time it could be interpreted as a warning," he concluded.
Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.