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Following US warning, Iraq steps up pressure on outlawed militias

A warning from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has spurred Popular Mobilization Units factions to take actions against outlawed militias that are attacking foreign missions and troops.
Members of the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) forces militia disinfect a street in the western Washash district of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on April 6, 2020, as part of measures against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

The US warning to the Iraqi government to take action against the militias in the country has shaken up the political scene.

There have been a series of statements and a flurry of diplomatic exchanges in response to the message from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Iraqi President Barham Salih that all attacks on foreign missions and troops must stop, or else the United States would consider closing its embassy and targeting all militias involved in attacks against the United States.

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