ERBIL, Iraq — Though Sunni tribal fighters work alongside the Shiite-dominant Population Mobilization Units (PMU) in the war against the Islamic State, memories of what came after the 2006 Anbar Awakening have left many in Iraq’s westernmost region wary.
Several residents of Anbar who took part in the fighting a decade ago, which wrested much of the region from al-Qaeda control, say they were detained in subsequent years by the authorities on frivolous charges.
