Iraqi Movement Decries US Report on Hashd al-Shaabi

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iraqi movement Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq denounced as offensive a new report from the US State Department that has accused the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) or Hashd al-Shaabi of atrocities in Iraq, saying it reflects the US political defeat in the Arab country.

News ID: 76241

Date: 17 March 2019 - 14:16

In an interview with RT Arabic, Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq Spokesman Mahmoud al-Rabiee said the US Department of State’s offensive report about the Hashd al-Shaabi forces indicates that the US political defeat in Iraq in the wake of the last elections has been much heavier than Washington’s military failure in the Arab country.

He also underlined that such US stances could never discourage the Iraqi forces from pursuing their goals, warning that the US aims to weaken Iraq,

In separate comments, Ali al-Husseini, the spokesperson of the northern axis of Hashd al-Shaabi told Almaalomah that the prime minister of Iraq must summon the US ambassador to Baghdad and voice Iraq’s strong protest at the report.

In its report, the US State Department said, “The government’s reassertion of federal authority in disputed areas bordering the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), after the Kurdistan Region’s September 2017 independence referendum, resulted in reports of abuses and atrocities by the security forces, including those affiliated with the PMF.”

In November 2016, Iraq's parliament voted to accord full legal status to Hashd al-Shaabi as a back-up and reserve force for the military and police and empower them to "deter" security and terror threats.

The popular forces have supported the Baghdad government in the fight against Daesh (ISIL) since the Takfiri group swept across Iraq in 2014.

The Hashd al-Shaabi forces played a key role in checking the advance of Daesh on Baghdad and the holy cities of Samarra and Karbala in the summer of 2014 and later helped liberate Daesh-held areas to the south, northeast and north of Baghdad.

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