Pro-Iran Iraqi militias increasingly fragmented since Suleimani assassination
Internal disputes are emerging within pro-Iran factions in the PMU, a year and a half after the killing of the former IRGC Quds Force leader Qasim Sulaimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Pro-Iranian factions in Iraq have been without leadership to steer their actions since Jan. 3, 2020. On that day, a US drone strike killed the commander of the Iranian Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).
Muhandis had these factions under control and was considered the final decision-maker and the balance-maker in their relations with the Iraqi government. In light of his absence, especially in recent months, signs of internal disputes have surfaced among the factions.
The arrest of PMU leader Qassim Musleh by the Iraqi government shed light on some of those disputes. Some of the factions refused to storm the Green Zone; others were pushing toward escalating actions against the government.
Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Fatah Alliance consisting of most of the armed factions, hinted at the existence of differences within these factions. On June 1, he talked about "demons" among the PMU who tried to exploit the arrest of Musleh.
