US pushes Iraq to integrate Iran-backed PMU militias after strikes

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.

The PMU consists of as many as 40 groups under Iraqi and Iranian authority, the Pentagon says, possibly totaling some 160,000 fighters. Iraq’s government issued an executive order in July to bring Iranian-backed factions of the PMU under Baghdad’s control, and the United States plans to assist with identifying elements that will be demobilized.

Mulroy, who is set to leave the Trump administration next month, called Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s order to rein in the group “an important step towards ensuring Iraq's future as a strong, sovereign, unified, democratic, and prosperous state.” The Pentagon’s top Middle East policy official cautioned, however, “Implementation of the decree will be key, and we will continue to engage with the Government of Iraq on the need to enforce this Executive Order.”