In a statement on Sunday, the Hashd al-Sha’abi said the Daesh elements launched a massive attack on the area of al-Azim in Diyala late on Saturday.
The offensive was thwarted by the popular forces, and scores of the militants were killed and injured in the process of the counterattack, it added.
Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters have played a major role in the liberation of areas held by Daesh terrorists ever since the Takfiri group launched an offensive in the country, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.
In November 2016, the Iraqi parliament voted to integrate the PMU, which was formed shortly after the emergence of Daesh in Iraq in 2014, into the military.
The popular group, however, is a thorn in the side of the United States which is widely believed to be managing an array of militant groups, including Daesh, to advance its Israel-centric agenda in the region.
