Popular Mobilization Forces
Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) (Arabic: قوات الحشد الشعبي, romanized: Quwwāt al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī),[35] also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iraqi state-sponsored paramilitary network composed of about 67 armed factions, with around 100,000 fighters that are mostly Shia Muslim groups backed by Iran, but also include Sunni Muslim, Christian, and Yazidi groups.[36][37][38][39] The Popular Mobilization Units were formed in 2014 and fought in nearly every major Iraqi battle against Islamic State.[40] Many of its main militias, in particular the Shias, trace their origins to the "Special Groups", Iranian-sponsored Shi'ite groups which previously fought an insurgency against the United States and the Coalition forces, as well as a sectarian conflict against Sunni Jihadist and Ba'athist insurgents.[36][41] It has been called the new Iraqi Republican Guard after it was fully reorganized in early 2018 by its then-Commander Haider al-Abadi, Prime Minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2018, who issued "regulations to adapt the situation of the Popular Mobilization fighters".[42]
Some of its component militias which are pro-Iran are considered terrorist groups by some states and have been accused of promoting sectarian violence.[43][44][45] Pro-Iran organizations in the PMF include the Badr Organisation, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah, Kata’ib al-Imam Ali, Saraya Khorasani, etc.[46] During the 2019–2021 Iraqi protests, the pro-Iran groups were responsible for killing and wounding large numbers of protesters and activists.[47][48][49][50][51] Pro-Iran PMF groups have also fought against pro-Sistani and Sadrist PMF groups, and their increasing rivalry erupted into violent clashes in 2022.[52][53] Since 2020, Iranian-backed PMF groups have launched attacks against American and allied forces in the region, claiming them under the name "Islamic Resistance in Iraq".[54][55][56]