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Pro-Iran PMU factions prepare for electoral battle in Iraq

Segments of the Popular Mobilization Units close to Iran are forming an alliance to participate in Iraq's upcoming elections.
Ahmed al-Asadi, spokeman for Shi'ite paramilitary group Hashd Shaabi, speaks during a news conference in Baghdad, July 2, 2015. Iraqi forces have cleared Islamic State militants from most of the northern town of Baiji and hope to drive them from the nearby oil refinery within days, a spokesman for the Shi'ite militias leading the fight said on Thursday. Al-Asadi said there were still "pockets of resistance" to the northeast and northwest of the town, and Islamic State fighters were trying to launch attacks
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As the Iraqi parliamentary elections set for May draw nearer, many Iraqis are concerned about the potential participation of a coalition of pro-Iran political and military movements.

Ahmed al-Asadi, the secretary-general of Kata'ib Jund al-Imam (Imam's Soldiers' Battalions), announced Nov. 28 the launch of the Mujahedeen Coalition. The alliance comprises the main political factions whose volunteers and leaders helped form the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). Asadi also announced he was resigning as PMU spokesman to instead serve as the Mujahedeen Coalition's spokesman.

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