Black Hand (Zorasan)

Black Hand
اليد السوداء al-Yad as-Sawdāʾ
Emblem of the Black Hand
Founders	Malik al-Majid (alleged) Mustafa al-Kharadji (suspected)
Leaders	1953-1969 (unknown) Ezatollah Ashtari (1969-1977) Abdul-Nazir Jadid (1977-1979)
Dates of operation	11 April 1953 - 30 October 1979
Motives	Unification of Zorasan Overthrow of pro-Euclean Badawiyan governments
Headquarters	Unknown
Active regions	Zorasan, Tsabara
Ideology	Sattarism Pan-Zorasanism Anti-colonialism
Allies	Union of Khazestan and Pardaran
Opponents	Kexri Republic (1953-1964) North Khazestan (1953-1968) Emirate of Irvadistan (1953-1968) Confederation of Riyadha (1953-1973) Irvadi People's Republic (1968-1979)

The Black Hand (Badawiyan: اليد السوداء; al-Yad as-Sawdāʾ), officially known as the Black Hand of National Liberation (اليد السوداء للخلاص الوطني; al-Yad as-Sawdāʾ lil-Khalās al-Wataniyy) was a militant Sattarist and Pan-Zorasanist group established in 1953, until its dissolution in 1979. The Black Hand played a prominent role during Zorasani unification, being responsible for numerous major terror attacks, assassinations and other operations against the Badawiyan governments opposing the unification of Zorasan.

Origins

Little is known about the origins of the Black Hand, however, the two most prominent possibilities is that of the Malik al-Majid testimony that the Black Hand was formed out of the Popular Resistance of Khazestan at the behest of Khazi revolutionary leader Mustafa al-Kharadji, while the other possibility is that the Black Hand was formed after the Khazi Revolution in secret by Al-Kharadji and his associates.

Malik al-Majid and the PRK

Information on the Black Hand has been difficult to obtain due to the restrictions on freedom of information in Zorasan. However, in the post-unification period of the early 1980s, hundreds of individuals came out to the national Zorasani press to claim they were members of the Black Hand. Among the most reliable sources are those that belong to the Heroes of Husaybah, a group of armed gunmen who prevented a public mass execution by firing squad in the southeastern Khazi city of Husaybah. The leader of the group, Malik al-Majid told Ettehad newspaper in 1983 that after saving the Husaybah condemned, he and his comrades formed the Popular Resistance of Khazestan in early 1950. The PRK rapidly grew in Abassiya to boast over 3,000 members, though only a "vanguard core" were armed with guns of various types, the remaining number were tasked with civil disobedience in the ultimate aim of overthrowing the Khazi monarchy. The PRK would go on to stage hit and run attacks against government personnel in Abassiya and its surrounding environs, gaining notoriety nationally by 1951. The same year, representatives from the Khazi Revolutionary Resistance Command met with the PRK to discuss cooperation against the monarchy. Al-Majid explained that the PRK immediately accepted the KRRC's proposal, knowing that doing so they could secure supplies from neighbouring Pardaran. So impressed by the PRK, that the KRRC leader, Mustafa al-Kharadji once seizing power in wake of the Khazi Revolution, asked Al-Majid to form a "special actions group" that would operate behind enemy lines to destabilise the remaining monarchies. Between 1952 and 1953, Al-Majid and his 3,000 supporters were trained in militant action, and educated in the nature of their mission. The training according to al-Majid took place in various training facilities in Pardaran, far from the Zorasani-Badawiyan states to the east.

Al-Majid's testimony to Ettehad was corroborated by numerous individuals, including several veteran KRRC officials who would go on to serve in the government of the Union of Khazestan and Pardaran. When asked to confirm Al-Majid's story, the Zorasani government refused to be drawn into debates or discussions of the Black Hand, repeating the same line that it was an independent popular force comprised of "revolutionaries dedicated to the ideal of Zorasan."

Mustafa al-Kharadji and the Black Brigade

The other prominent "origin story" of the Black Hand centers around Mustafa al-Kharadji, the leader of the Khazi Revolutionary Resistance Command and the Khazi Revolution. Al-Kharadji stands as one of the most pivotal figures in Zorasani unification, as it was his movement that swayed the Pardarian Revolutionary Resistance Command in wake of the Pardarian Civil War to adopt Pan-Zorasanism, as a result, he rapidly found himself elevated to be the ideology's key Badawiyan figure. As the noted unification historian, Ghassan Nakhabi noted in 1999, "Al-Kharadji in the end was the more committed soul of Pan-Zorasanism. It is him that unleashed the Arduous Revolution from the cautious worries of the Pardarian and forged Pan-Zorasanism into the success it is today." In the immediate aftermath of the Khazi Revolution in 1953, al-Kharadji arranged a meeting of senior KRRC figures to discuss unification with Pardaran, but according to some diary entries of figures in attendance, Al-Kharadji proposed the creation of a "specalist movement" that would export the Khazi revolution to the other Badawiyan states of Zorasan and achieve unification through popular uprisings.

The difference between the Al-Kharadji and Al-Majid accounts is that the group selected to form the foundation of the Black Hand was the Black Brigade, an elite force of partisans subordinate to Al-Kharadji himself. The Black Brigade was comprised of those who had answered al-Kharadji's call in fighting in the Pardarian Civil War alongside the PRRC. The Black Brigade's leader was al-Kharadji in more than just name, with their return to revolutionary Khazestan, al-Kharadji had sole disrection over its actions and directions. As such, the Al-Kharadji account if correct, would place him as the sole commanding authority over the Black Hand, while completely removing Malik al-Majid from the organisation.

History

Early stages (1953-1960)

Following its establishment in 1953, the group which is believed to have numbered 1,200-2,400 strong was sent for vigorous training regimes in either Khazestan or Pardaran. This training according to self-confessed members of the Black Hand included the designing and production of explosive devices, weapons training and political education. The group was divided into three sections, the Political Command Section (قسم القيادة السياسية; Qism Qiyāda ath-Siyāsiyy), Special Actions Section (قسم الإجراءات الخاصة; Qism al-Hamla Kāṣṣ) and Infiltration and Agitation Section (قسم التسلل والإثارة; Qism Tasallul walʼIṯāra). These sections are dedicated to the propagation of Sattarism and Pan-Zorasanism within target societies, militant attacks or operations and the infiltration of key societal groups and circles to agitate against governments respectively. By April, the Black Hand had sufficient force and capabilities to launch its first major operation against the government of North Khazestan.

"Brothers and Sisters, Sons and Daughters of the Motherland. Our sacred soil is now watered with the blood of oppressors and tyrants, our sacred soil is watered by the blood of those who would keep as torn apart. We are not Badawiyan, Kexri or Pardarian, we are the children of Zorasan, we are one people bound by 2,500 years of glorious history. The imperialists sought to divide us, now the jackals do so today for their own gain. But know this, we are the Black Hand. We are the Black Hand that shall rise from the swirling masses that throttles the tyrant and oppressor. We are the Black Hand that shall rise from the deserts and cities and crush the imperialists in our clenched fist. We are the Black Hand of National Liberation and we come for all who dare deny us our nation."

First Black Hand radio broadcast message, Voice of the Motherland, 13 April 1953

According to some documents released in the 1990s, the Black Hand infiltrated the North utilising an elite force of roughly 30 men drawn from both the north and south. Entering the North's capital fo Hejjnah and aided by intelligence gathered by the UKP, in the evening of the 12 April, the group split up into pairs and would go on to assassinate 14 prominent government ministers, civil servants and royal court members. Most devastatingly for the North, King Fahd's eldest son, Farouk bin Fahd was shot dead on his way home from a personal meeting with a nephew of the Emir of Riyadha. Most of the group were successful in escaping the country, however, 8 of their number were captured by North Khazi security forces and executed several days later. On 13 April, the Black Hand released its first broadcast message via the transnational pan-Zorasanist radio station, Voice of the Motherland, declaring its intention to continue attacking the Badawiyan monarchies and to evict foreign influence. The broadcasts through Voice of the Motherland would become one of the more iconic developments during the Arduous Revolution, alongside successive UKP leaders using the station to speak to millions of ethnic Badawiyans. The broadcast and the assassinations propelled the Black Hand into the minds of Badawiyans across Zorasan, while the attacks also served as a major cause for the Mubaraz Pact, the alliance of Badawiyan monarchies against the UKP which was signed in August 1953. The alliance in turn resulted in the expansion of Black Hand operations beyond North Khazestan to Riyadha, Irvadistan and the Kexri Republic.

Black Hand fighters in rural North Khazestan in 1958

Following the success of its first major operation, the Black Hand’s activities in North Khazestan were rapidly expanded. Among the top priorities of the group, was the establishment of footholds within North Khazi society. According to released records, the Black Hand dispatched 200 “political agitators” into the country, to immerse themselves within the urban working class and rural populations – the primary demographic support base for Sattarism. The degree to which the Black Hand consolidated its foothold surprised even its leadership, as well as the Black Hand’s superiors in the UKP government. In one such case, Marhad al-Ghassemi, a political agitator, murdered and replaced Saad Khalizad, a trade union activist in Hejjnah as the head of the Hejjnah Worker’s Association. Al-Ghassemi would go on to use his position to agitate the workers toward embracing Sattarism and denouncing the monarchy. In response, the North Khazi government shut down the HWA in 1955, prompting a urban proletariat backlash. Al-Ghassemi would continue to lead workers underground until 1961 when he was arrested and executed by the Royal Police. For a vast majority of cases, the Black Hand agitators would merely infiltrate North Khazestan and assume standard profiles and jobs, taking to agitating neighbours and work colleagues, while establishing a network with other agitators for the production and distribution of Sattarist propaganda. Between 1953 and 1955, the Black Hand continued to conduct low-key assassinations against government officials across Badawiyan-Zorasan, while Black Hand agents and their local recruits would launch sporadic guerilla attacks on enemy military units in the rural regions of target countries. Historian, Ahmed Hassan remarked, "between 1953 and 1955, the Black Hand's actions were relatively low key compared to the baptism by assassinating 30 prominent North Khazi officials, including the King's son and heir. This was intentional, for they sought to consolidate their footholds in urban and rural areas while maintaining the most minimalist momentum. This tactic ensured that they conducted enough acts for propaganda purposes, while behind the scenes were engraining themselves among supportive populations."

Hallandic Embassy Marines can be seen here assisting the search and rescue following the 1955 Irvadi Embassy Bombing

In 1954, the Black Hand began to increase the tempo of its direct actions in North Khazestan, infamously attacking and raiding the H-1 Garrison Base close to the city of Khidir, killing 54 soldiers and capturing vast quantities of arms and ammunition. This was followed by the assassination of Prince Ahmad ibn Tahjiri, the head of the Royal Khazi Army, alongside his wife and three daughters at a wedding. The success of these two operations was widely credited to the support of ordinary of North Khazis, with the former relying upon farmers and herders joining the Black Hand attack, and the latter, on the domestic house staff of the hosts. The 1954 attacks in North Khazestan led to widespread crackdowns, with the government often detaining hundreds and killing many discriminately, with little to no evidence of individuals' involvement with the movement. These poorly advised or led crackdowns only further served the Black Hand and ostensibly, the Union of Khazestan and Pardaran.

The year of 1955 would mark a significant shift in Black Hand tactics and would include two major operations that would come to define the Black Hand's campaigns for the duration of the Arduous Revolution. On the 22 May 1955, the Black Hand bombed a tribal meeting in the town of Beit Muhandis in western Riyadha, killing 23 people and injuring 90 others. Among those killed was Prince Khalid bin Mohammad Al Qadiri, the second son of Riyadha's ruling Emir. Alongside the second son, were 4 prominent local tribal leaders who were also killed. In its Voice of the Motherland broadcast claiming responsibility for the bombing, the Black Hand said, "ever higher we climb the rotten family trees whose roots poison our sacred soil." Eleven days later, the Black Hand assassinated Emir Sultan bin Hadir, the leader of the Riyahdi state of Samadah, who also served as the Interior Minister. Four days later the Black Hand bombed the War Ministry of North Khazestan, killing 19 people and injuring 100 others. However, the Black Hand suffered a serious loss on June 20, when Irvadi security forces infiltrated the movement's primary stronghold in Qufeira. In the ensuing raids that day, the Irvadis arrested over 200 Black Hand operatives and 1,200 supporters, this was followed by the execution of the 200 operatives. The losses set back the Black Hand operation in Irvadistan by months if not years. In response to the Irvadi's success, the Black Hand launched its most audacious operation. On the 3 July, the Irvadi Embassy in Adunis, Tsabara was bombed killing 36 people and injuring over 100. Irvadistan's ambassador to the country was killed in the blast. The attack drew condemnation from across the globe and resulted in a marked decrease in Black Hand activity across Badawiyan-Zorasan for over two-years, despite this, the attack was successful in proving that the Black Hand had the reach to strike the interests and assets of the Badawiyan monarchies across Northern Coius.

Terror campaign (1960-1968)

With the turn of 1960, the Black Hand ended its self-imposed restraint. Having spent the previous five years focusing on either consolidating strongholds or in Irvadistan’s case, rebuilding its lost influence, the Black Hand was directed to step up actions in response to rising tensions between the UKP and the Mubaraz Pact. With the UKP’s leadership becoming uneasy with the growing Euclean influence over Riyadha and the perceived threat that Euclea could seek to protect North Khazestan, it began to formulate war plans in early 1960, key to these plans was an all-out offensive by the Black Hand across Badawiyan-Zorasan.

The Black Hand’s presence in North Khazestan by now had reached a critical mass, to the extent that vast swathes of the rural regions held more loyalty to the underground Black Hand network than the central monarchical government. Beginning in early 1960, Black Hand units attacked North Khazi oil infrastructure, including pipelines and oil wells. The Black Hand also launched an urban insurgency in the eastern city of Khidir, drawing thousands of much-needed government soldiers and police. Beginning in April 1960, the Black Hand attempted to seize control of the city in a poorly executed uprising. The North Khazi armed forces, backed by forces from neighbouring Irvadistan crushed the uprising, leaving over 3,000 people dead by August. The failure in Khidir did little to deter or restrain the Black Hand elsewhere, with attacks on economic assets continuing unabated. During this time, the Black Hand began to utilise kidnappings as a weapon against the North Khazi government, targetting the family members and associates of the royal family, civil servants and ministers.

File:Nizwa Fort in the interior of Oman attacked by British RAF fighter jets during Jebel Akhdar War.png

The old citadel of Khidir under Irvadi government air attack during the failed Black Hand led uprising in 1960.

Simultaneously to the operations in North Khazestan, the Black Hand was stepping up its attacks against the Irvadi government, culminating in the assassination of Prime Minister Amir al-Tabani on the 3 March 1960. The Iravdi head of government was visiting a hospital treating wounded soldiers when he was gunned down by 21-year old Saad Khatib. Khatib had joined the Black Hand in Assan a year prior following the execution of his father, who was falsely accused of being a Black Hand sympathiser. The Black Hand leadership in Irvadistan opted for different set of targets to other branches, instead of exclusively targeting government figures and institutions, the Irvadi Black Hand opted to begin “sowing chaos.” On the 14 May, the Black Hand with roughly 100 armed supporters attacked the prison at Akhtarin, releasing over 400 prisoners. However, the Black Hand notably murdered 118 prisoners who were being held for membership of far-left groups. This was followed by the bombing of a coal-powered station in Zubajda, knocking out electricity for over a week.