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Iraq

Kataib Hezbollah dissolves militia following Sadr’s call

2021-11-20

[Rudaw] The hardline pro-Iran
Iran

...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites....
militia Kataib

Hezbollah announced on Friday the dissolution of one of its gangs, following a call from Shiite holy man Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
for militias to disband and leave all weapons in control of the state.

Abu Ali al-Askari, a senior Kataib Hezbollah official, said on Telegram that "in response to what was published by one of the friendly parties regarding the initiative to disband its military forces," his militia group has decided to dissolve its Saraya al-Difa al-Shaabi (Popular Defense Brigades), ordering it to "stop all its activities and close its headquarters."

When the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group (ISIS) seized controlled swathes of Syrian and Iraqi land in 2014, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for Iraqis to take up arms and defend the country. This paved the way for the formation militia groups under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi). The PMF has since been absorbed into the Iraqi security forces, but many of the militias operate outside of the control of the state and some are backed by Iran.

Sadr, whose movement won the most seats in last month’s parliamentary election and is set to lead the next government, on Thursday called on the militias to disband if they want to join his cabinet. Political parties affiliated with the pro-Iran militias did poorly in the election and their supporters have rejected the results and staged protests. Askari responded to Sadr saying that Kataib Hezbollah would give up their weapons only after Sadr’s gang, Saraya al-Salam, and the Kurdish Peshmerga did so.

On Friday, Sadr announced he was shutting down one of his brigades. "As a goodwill gesture from me, I announce the dissolution of the al-Yum al-Wuud [the Promised Day] Brigade, and the closure of their headquarters," he tweeted. He said the group had previously handed over its weapons and that anyone in the brigade who still has a weapon must turn it in within 48 hours.

"I hope this step will be the beginning of the dissolution of gangs as well as the handover of their weapons and closure of their bases," he said.

Askari said that the members of the disbanded Popular Defense Brigades will be embedded within the PMF and maintain their entitlements. He also said he hoped that Sadr would transfer control of his three brigades over to the PMF and "make understandings with the leaders of the Peshmerga to complete its dissolution and be embedded into the Iraqi security forces."

The Peshmerga have not immediately commented on Askari’s statement.

Posted by:trailing wife

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