Kailash Kumar
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2018
- Messages
- 4,643
- Reaction score
- -1
- Country
- Location
Iraqi militias announce plans for their own air force
Mina Aldroubi
Sep 5, 2019
Members of the Liwa Al Tafuf 13th Brigade of Iraq's Hashed Al Shaabi paramilitary take part in a graduation ceremony in Karbala on August 30, 2019.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq on Thursday announced plans to form their own air force following a series of alleged Israeli strikes on their weapons depots and other facilities.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), also known as Hashed Al Shaabi received Iranian training and advice while fighting against ISIS independently of the US-led coalition. It is made up of disparate groups that include some Sunni and Christian tribal units.
“We announce the formation of an air force directorate with the appointment of Salah Mahdi Hantous as its chief,” the PMF said in a statement that suggested this would be done independently of the state’s security apparatus.
The alleged Israeli strikes hit PMF targets in western and central Iraq last month. The militias accused Washington of assisting Tel Aviv and threatened to attack US military bases in the country in retaliation.
Although Israel did not claim responsibility for the strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was threatening its security by setting up military bases in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
Mr Netanyahu said in an interview with Russian-language Israeli television Channel 9 last month that Israel had carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, some of them against Iranian targets, to prevent Tehran from establishing a permanent military presence there and to stop advanced weapons reaching its proxies in the area.
“We are operating – not just if needed, we are operating in many areas against a state that wants to annihilate us. Of course I gave the security forces a free hand and instructed them to do anything necessary to thwart Iran’s plans,” Mr Netanyahu said, without naming Iraq as one of the areas.
The Iranian-backed militias became a formal part of the Iraqi armed forces in 2016, supposedly reporting to the head of government, but have so far failed to obey Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s orders to integrate into the army and cut ties with political groups.
“This kind of agency now has a life force of its own and will not be demobilised in the near term,” said Michael Knights, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Mr Knights told The National that Iraq would likely have a parallel military similar to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran.
The attacks on PMF targets have set back security and stability in Iraq just as it appeared to be on the path to recovery following the devastating war against ISIS and decades of conflict before that.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/iraqi-militias-announce-plans-for-their-own-air-force-1.907001
Mina Aldroubi
Sep 5, 2019
Members of the Liwa Al Tafuf 13th Brigade of Iraq's Hashed Al Shaabi paramilitary take part in a graduation ceremony in Karbala on August 30, 2019.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq on Thursday announced plans to form their own air force following a series of alleged Israeli strikes on their weapons depots and other facilities.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), also known as Hashed Al Shaabi received Iranian training and advice while fighting against ISIS independently of the US-led coalition. It is made up of disparate groups that include some Sunni and Christian tribal units.
“We announce the formation of an air force directorate with the appointment of Salah Mahdi Hantous as its chief,” the PMF said in a statement that suggested this would be done independently of the state’s security apparatus.
The alleged Israeli strikes hit PMF targets in western and central Iraq last month. The militias accused Washington of assisting Tel Aviv and threatened to attack US military bases in the country in retaliation.
Although Israel did not claim responsibility for the strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was threatening its security by setting up military bases in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
Mr Netanyahu said in an interview with Russian-language Israeli television Channel 9 last month that Israel had carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, some of them against Iranian targets, to prevent Tehran from establishing a permanent military presence there and to stop advanced weapons reaching its proxies in the area.
“We are operating – not just if needed, we are operating in many areas against a state that wants to annihilate us. Of course I gave the security forces a free hand and instructed them to do anything necessary to thwart Iran’s plans,” Mr Netanyahu said, without naming Iraq as one of the areas.
The Iranian-backed militias became a formal part of the Iraqi armed forces in 2016, supposedly reporting to the head of government, but have so far failed to obey Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s orders to integrate into the army and cut ties with political groups.
“This kind of agency now has a life force of its own and will not be demobilised in the near term,” said Michael Knights, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Mr Knights told The National that Iraq would likely have a parallel military similar to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran.
The attacks on PMF targets have set back security and stability in Iraq just as it appeared to be on the path to recovery following the devastating war against ISIS and decades of conflict before that.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/iraqi-militias-announce-plans-for-their-own-air-force-1.907001
