Competing armed groups in Iraq’s Anbar spell trouble for Trump’s plans for Iran

Washington has its sights on curbing a force many say answers only to Iran, but one that is deeply embedded in local economies

Volunteers from the Shia Badr Brigade cheer after an exchange of fire with ISIS fighters on a front line in Anbar province in 2015. Getty Images

Three ISIS fighters have been killed in Iraq’s vast western province of Anbar, said the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a militia organisation of scores of armed groups, many backed by Iran and supportive of its regime.

Normally, the operation would be unremarkable in Iraq’s long struggle against terrorism, which has seen a number of countries – mainly the US and Iran – jockey for influence.

But in a symbol of how complex militia politics has become in Iraq, the PMF fighters involved were not religious Shiite fighters, but Sunnis from the Anbar town of Haditha, the 57th Brigade formed in 2015.

They are one of scores of armed groups across Iraq, sometimes with competing agendas, which some allies of US President Donald Trump hope can be reined in by tougher sanctions and threats of force.

The PMF – an official branch of Iraq’s armed forces with at least $3 billion in funding – have long had a heavy presence in Sunni majority provinces. They filled a security void, counterattacking against ISIS’s onslaught across Iraq in 2014 when the official army collapsed, winning praise from many Shiite supporters.

But they also sparked concern among Sunnis fearful of their controversial past.

Shiite Popular Mobilisation Forces and Iraqi army members gather on the outskirts of Hawija, Iraq. Reuters

Many associate them with a Holy Fatwa from Iraq’s foremost Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, who called on his followers to take up arms and stop the ISIS offensive. Existing Iran-backed militias such as Kataib Hezbollah joined the cause – backed by former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki – and now dominate the organisation.

Anbar shows just how complex it has become, amid calls to put greater pressure on the PMF, elements of which attacked Israel last year and launched hundreds of attacks on US base Al Asad, where Americans work with the regular Iraqi army.

The US role was intended for training and may end in 2026, depending on “conditions on the ground”, Washington says. But in August, several US soldiers were wounded in a combat mission against ISIS in Anbar amid heavy air strikes.

According to the 57th Brigade’s commander, in an interview with militancy expert Aymenn Al Tamimi, it trained alongside the Iraqi army 7th Division at Al Asad, which works closely with US forces.

It is just one part of a web of armed groups with different allegiances in Anbar and across Iraq that could complicate western calls for the PMF to be folded into the regular army, or even disbanded.

Murky politics after Assad

Iran-backed militias are accused of widespread human rights abuse during Iraq’s post-2003 invasion civil war, the war on ISIS, intervening in Syria and a bloody crackdown on protests in 2019 that left at least 600 people dead.

They claim their presence in provinces such as Anbar is essential for fighting ISIS. But many say the price of security is control of economic infrastructure, and the smuggling of fuel and arms to allies in Syria – before Bashar Al Assad’s fall – and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Many spoke for this article on condition of anonymity, out of fear of reprisal.

The fall of the Assad regime caused deep unease in Baghdad, which deployed more troops to the border, with fears that Syria’s new leaders Hayat Tahrir Al Sham – once linked to Al Qaeda – would spill across Iraq's western border.

“The numbers of the security forces and Hashd have multiplied significantly since then,” a senior PMF leader told The National, using the Arabic name of the PMF. “All of us sit in the same operations command and carry out joint operations along the borders."

While the main border crossing on the Syrian side, Abu Kamal, is no longer in PMF hands, some parts of the Syrian side are also controlled by the mostly Kurdish, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

Seven regiments of the PMF have been deployed in Anbar recently from other areas in Iraq, bringing the number of its fighters to more than 25,000, the commander added. Among those are Sunni tribal fighters from Anbar who joined the force in the fight against ISIS between 2014-2017, but also the Hashd Al Shabak, a group accused of extorting locals in Nineveh province.

The war on ISIS helped the PMF gain significant influence in Sunni-dominated provinces, mainly Nineveh, Salaheddin and Anbar. Its leaders have also managed to forge strong alliances with several local figures, including tribal leaders and politicians, many of whom realised ISIS dominance would have been the worst outcome.

Iraqi government forces and tribal fighters head to take part in an operation to retake Rutba from ISIS in 2016. AFP

However, the PMF presence raised concerns among some politicians and tribal leaders, mainly those who are affiliated to former parliament speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi.

“There are some politicians who want us out of the province but the majority of normal people, politicians and tribal leaders fear the scenario of 2014 and appreciate our role in protecting them,” the PMF official said. “There will be a security vacuum if PMF leaves Anbar that can hardly be filled. “To those we say: don’t even think about it."

With Donald Trump back in the White House, the Iran-backed factions – particularly those in a breakaway group, the Islamic Resistance – are also bracing for more sanctions, recently called for by US Congressman Joe Wilson. Mr Wilson said Mr Trump will “fix” the problem of the powerful PMF-linked Badr Organisation escaping sanctions. The organisation is deeply embedded in Iraq's economy.

How this could pan out in Anbar, where the PMF is a source of scarce jobs, is unclear. Some accuse it of being little more than an extension of Iranian influence, which has, critics say, drained billions of dollars of Iraqi public money through corrupt schemes. Many who have voiced criticism of these schemes have been kidnapped or shot in the street.

The PMF's roots go back decades and many members were guerrilla groups formed in the Iran-Iraq war to fight former dictator Saddam Hussein, later fighting the Americans and British after the 2003 invasion.

To its supporters, the PMF arose to fight ISIS in 2014, selflessly and at first, without salaries. To its critics they are ruthless and risk turning Iraq into a bloody arena of regional conflict.

PMF-linked groups resumed attacks on US forces in 2019 when the war on ISIS wound down, ending an uneasy alliance between coalition advisers helping the Iraqi army and the government-funded militias. Before then, PMF groups such as Kataib Hezbollah had killed 603 US troops after the invasion, up until 2011.

US military vehicles at Al Asad airbase in Anbar province. Reuters

Tension peaked in January 2020 after a deadly PMF attack that killed an Iraqi-American contractor. Donald Trump authorised a strike against Iranian Gen Qassem Suleimani, inadvertently killing Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, the de facto PMF head. This brought Iran and the US to the brink of war.

More violence could be on the cards. During former president Joe Biden’s term, several large air strikes took place against the groups, often labelled as “defensive".

A satellite image from February 2021 shows the aftermath of US air strikes on buildings at Al Qaim, Iraq, near the Syrian border. AFP / Maxar Technologies

The most violent strikes came last February, with 85 air attacks against militias mainly in Anbar province, western Iraq, which were blamed for a drone attack on a US outpost in Jordan that killed three US servicemen.

One of the main targets was a PMF offshoot called Liwa Al Tufuf, another group symbolising the complex existence of the PMF in Anbar.

Kataib Hezbollah, alongside which Tufuf operates, is seen as one of Iran’s closest allies in Iraq and has long controlled border crossings into Syria. In Anbar, it was accused of killing hundreds of Sunnis, with many having gone missing at a checkpoint known as Razaza.

But now Tufuf has an allied unit of Sunni fighters in Al Qaim near the Syrian border, Fawj Dir Al Qaim. It is also a breakaway from non-Iran aligned Shiite groups funded by Iraq’s Holy Shrine authorities in Najaf and Karbala, PMF units such as the Imam Ali Combat Division, which includes some Sunni fighters and is widely viewed as independent.

Lingering mistrust

“Not all PMF are bad,” said Salih, an electrical engineer from Ramadi, who wished to speak anonymously due to security fears.

“Some of them abide by human rights. Some of them are not pro-Iran. Only those supported by Hezbollah and Iran carry bad agendas,” he said.

“Their role was primarily to secure supply lines for the Assad regime. We hope that these groups will stay away from our Sunni provinces, as they carry an agenda of vengeance and expansion on behalf of Iran.”

Other Anbaris felt reassurance about the PMF presence, Salman Al Nima, a tribal leader told The National.

“I can’t see the same scenario of 2014 repeated given the huge presence of security forces and Hashd,” he said. “Hashd behaviour has been significantly changed in recent years in Anbar and Baghdad has a significant say about them, plus our sons are among them.”

Tribal allies

Before the PMF’s outreach to Sunni tribes, the practice made headlines in 2007 when the Americans recruited local Sunnis to fight and undermine Al Qaeda, fighters known as the Sahwa.

When the Americans left in 2011, the Iraqi army gradually eroded through corruption and poor leadership. The Sahwa were mostly defunded by the Iran-leaning government of Mr Al Maliki and tribal leaders became desperate for armed support against ISIS. Former prime minister Haider Al Abadi reached out to the tribes but it was the Iran-linked groups that filled the security vacuum.

Othman, a doctor from Hadith in Anbar, said the history of the PMF would always cause suspicion. “The people of Anbar have been feeling intimidated and they will continue to feel threatened by this presence no matter how they try to be friendly or engage with the locals. Over the years, they have tried to mobilise young men and some influential people from the province to legitimise their presence,” he said.

PMF members mourn during a funeral of their colleague, who was killed in an air strike in southern Baghdad last year. EPA

“Their existence in Al Qaim and other locations is not just about supplying Hezbollah or the former Syrian regime,” he said. "It also provides financial benefits to militia leaders, as they used to facilitate smuggling in exchange for fees or a share of the profits. Nobody can stop them on the route from Al Qaim to Baghdad."

According to Inna Rudolf, senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, the growing power of Sunni PMF groups has fuelled tension in the province.

"One of the criticisms levelled against the PMF leadership's engagement with the tribal mobilisation is the political instrumentalisation of the Sunnis in the province, specifically the empowerment of loyal tribal actors at the expense of more critical voices," she says.

"A recent controversy arose from a leaked audio recording attributed to the 55th Brigade of the Tribal Mobilisation Forces in Anbar, which called for members to attend an allegedly mandatory gathering in civilian clothing, even encouraging them to bring civilian friends and relatives. This sparked outrage among Iraqi parliamentarians, prompting calls for the Prime Minister to take punitive measures to prevent the exploitation of the Sunni PMF for political gain. As a result, the commander of the Popular Mobilisation Forces in Anbar, Saad Dawai, was summoned for investigation.”

The incident, she says, "demonstrates the strategic value of sustaining the PMF's presence in the province – especially with increasing speculation since Mr Trump's re-election about potential integration of the paramilitary into structures of the Iraqi army. For that reason, measures have been taken to project that the PMF's presence in the province is solely of a security nature, aimed at defending the Iraqi border and preventing incursions by ISIS cells, rather than becoming entangled in political machinations."