US pushes Iraq to integrate Iran-backed PMU militias after strikes
The Donald Trump administration is calling on Iraq to demobilize Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units after renewed rocket strikes hit near the US Embassy in Baghdad.
![IRAQ-MILITIAS/ Members of the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) take part in their graduation ceremony at a military camp in Kerbala, Iraq August 30, 2019. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa Al-Deen - RC1D99820E90](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/09/RTS2OJBJ.jpg/RTS2OJBJ.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=euaHjv9T)
The Donald Trump administration is calling on Iraq to keep up efforts to demobilize Iranian-backed militias after a volley of rockets attributed to Popular Mobilization Units struck near the US Embassy Sept. 24 despite Baghdad’s efforts to rein in the groups.
In a statement provided to Al-Monitor, Mick Mulroy, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, expressed the Pentagon's concern that the militants are operating “semi-autonomously” and “destabilizing the liberated areas and prioritize extortion for personal gain over fighting ISIS.” The rocket attacks into Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone were the first such strikes since May.