Contents: Thousands of Kurds in violent protests against Kurdistan government in northern Iraq; Iraq’s Baghdad government splits over role of Iran-backed Shia militias
Factions of the Iran-backed, largely Shiite militia coalition known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) began fighting each other on Tuesday in Iraqi territory they wrested out of the hands of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), according to a Kurdish news outlet.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has once again demanded that the Kurdish armed forces, the Peshmerga, allow him to take over as their commander-in-chief or significantly diminish in size, apparently taking advantage of Kurdish President Masoud Barzani’s announcement that he would step down from his role on November 1.
Terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State have resurfaced in the Kirkuk region of Iraq, reportedly attacking two villages north of Kirkuk city mere hours after the Iraqi military and its Iran-backed militia allies began an invasion against the Kurdish government controlling the city.
Concerns are growing amongst Iraqi Kurdish officials over the presence of Shiite-majority Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitaries in Northern Iraq where many territories remain controlled by the Islamic State.
A group affiliated with a predominantly Shiite paramilitary force backed by Iran and legally operating as a component of the Iraqi military has reportedly bombed Kurdish Peshmerga positions in northern Iraq’s Sinjar region, Rudaw reports.
Iraq has launched an investigation into alleged violations of human rights and other abuses against civilians purportedly committed by some of the country’s service members and their allies, including Iran-backed Shiite fighters.
Fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization of mostly Iran-allied Shiite militias, have established a presence in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region with the ultimate purpose of erecting a base there, Rudaw has learned from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The predominantly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) has been using weapons provided by the United States, Europe, Russia, and Iran to commit war crimes in Iraq, according to the human rights watchdog Amnesty International.
The top commander of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has lauded the Iran-allied Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a predominantly Shiite militia umbrella group that also includes individuals who have been deemed terrorists by the United States, for their contribution to the ongoing offensive to retake Sunni majority Mosul.
Contents: Shia militias in Iraq may or may not be attacking Tal Afar near Mosul; ISIS using tens of thousands of men, women and children as human shields in Mosul; Conflicts among ethnic groups lead to chaos in Mosul operation
The U.S. military has denied reports suggesting that fighters from Iran’s terrorist proxy Kataib Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, are fighting alongside U.S.-backed Iraqi troops and their allies in the offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
Contents: Unrealistic expectations surround the battle to recapture Mosul from ISIS; Turkey views Iraq and Syria through the lens of World War I and the Ottoman Empire
WASHINGTON, D.C. — American troops, including some who are embedded with advancing forces, are “in harm’s way” as they collaborate with troops from Iraq, the Kurdish Peshmerga, and Iran-linked Shiite militias in the fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), according to the Pentagon.
Contents: Turkey and Iraq in dispute over Turkish participation in Mosul operation; Turkey views the Mosul operation as a security threat to Turkey; ISIS may be given a chance to escape to Syria
Iran continues to expand its influence in Iraq through at least 80,000 Shiite militia fighters, prompting concerns that the Shiite country may replace the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) should it be defeated, reports Fox News.
Shiite militias in Iraq, many of them backed by state sponsor of terror Iran, have been accused of torturing “hundreds” of Sunni civilians captured during the ongoing battle to retake Fallujah from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL).
A shadowy anti-American Iraqi jihadist is currently serving as the most influential commander of the Iran-backed Shiite militia movement taking part in the offensive to retake Fallujah from the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), reports The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Contents: Arab League brands Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organization; U.S. blames Iran for cyber attack on a New York dam
