During the Arbaeen celebrations between the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala, I came across a commander with a wound on his arm. Sabih al Hajj Abu Yahia from Basra is a founder of the Zeinab Akile Brigades, a part of the Popular Mobilization Units. Telling me why he joined the war, he said, “We couldn’t allow Sistani’s wishes to go unheeded.”

After issuing a fatwa, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani mobilized the militias after the fall of Mosul in June 2014 and stopped the advance of the Islamic State (IS) to Baghdad.

The Popular Mobilization Units, with the strength of 120,000 fighters belonging to different organizations, most notably Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Badr Brigade, Ali al-Akbar Brigade, Saraya al-Salam, Iraqi Hezbollah, Saraya al-Jihad and the Iraqi Islamic Movement, was accorded legal status and attached to the Prime Ministry. It is Shiite dominated but also has Sunni and Christian fighters. Abu Yahia, who was in the clashes with IS at Ramadi, has been spending his convalescence in a tent set up on the occasion of Arbaeen to assist Shiite visitors. Frequent sightings of the Popular Mobilization Units’ vehicles at Karbala, Najaf, Baghdad, Samarra, Tikrit and Baiji give a good idea about the size of the units.

Militiamen are annoyed when asked if they are getting assistance from Iran and the involvement of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force. Abu Yahia, who fought in Ramadi with 1,500 fighters he recruited from Basra and Hille, said, “We get nothing from Iran. They invited us to Iran and we went, held discussions. Soleimani was an adviser, but not anymore. Our weapons and expenses of our fighters are met by the Iraqi government.”