Iraq’s Shiite forces claim victory over IS
Sheikh Akram al-Kaabi, the leader of Hezbollah al-Nujaba, a major Iraqi Shiite resistance movement fighting IS, tells Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview that his group will target US planes if they get near his forces.
In Iraq, there are dozens of militant groups fighting under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces, which is loyal to the central government in Baghdad, fighting the Islamic State (IS), which occupies large parts of the country.
Hezbollah al-Nujaba is one of these groups. In 2006, it fought US forces during Iraq’s occupation under the name of Asaib Ahlul Haq (League of the Righteous), before the group changed its name in 2012. The group admits that it is ideologically and organizationally associated with Iran and that it is currently fighting in Syria.
