Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi has said the military will soon begin a major offensive against ISIS and that militias backed by Iran will be part of the operation.
In an attempt to placate the pro-Iranian militias, Mr Al Kadhimi made the announcement during a visit to the Baghdad headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation Forces on Saturday.
Also known as the Hashed Al Shaabi, the PMF is an umbrella group of many militias in Iraq.
Mr Al Kadhimi had hinted they should eventually be disarmed unless they became totally subject to the country’s leadership as members of the military.
Most of the Hashed groups had indicated that they would not obstruct Mr Al Kadhimi’s reform drive.
The prime minister is a former intelligence chief supported by the US.
Hashed groups could still make or break his promise to restore the state and hold early elections after the previous government crushed a civil uprising demanding fundamental political change.
Mr Al Kadhimi said the military operation against ISIS would be widespread and aimed at preventing a resurgence of the group, “with a big role and with a fundamental participation of the Hashed".
“ISIS may be under the illusion that we are occupied with Cabinet formation and economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, and use it as an opportunity to expand," he said.
"They are wrong. We will soon launch the battle. ISIS, wait for us."
Among those attending was a representative of Kataib Hezbollah, whose leader, Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, was killed in a US drone strike along with Iranian Al Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad in January.
When Mr Al Kadhimi was nominated six weeks ago, Kataib Hezbollah accused him of helping the US to kill Suleimani and Al Muhandis, who was also de facto leader of the Hashed.
A photo of Al Muhandis was hung in the room where Mr Al Kadhimi spoke.
In his address to the Hashed, he referred only to its “martyrs” who died fighting ISIS, and not those who fought for the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al Assad.
Mr Al Kadhimi said the Hashed was a “legal entity tied with the army”.
“The strength of the state depends on the harmony of its institutions, so we have to work together on the spirit of this harmony,” he said.
Several times he reminded the militia chiefs that they owed their moral stature to Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, a relative moderate who is Iraq’s highest Shiite authority.
Mr Al Sistani played a main role in forming the Hashed in 2014, when he issued a fatwa calling on Iraq’s Shiites to take up arms against extremists.
But the ideological allegiance of many of the most lethal factions in the Hashed leans towards the ruling clerics in Iran.
Several Hashed groups regard themselves as soldiers of Mr Al Sistani’s religious seminary in Najaf.
They were mostly powerless as more militant groups helped the previous government to crush the peaceful protests that broke out in October, shooting demonstrators and killing and abducting civil activists.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
The years Ramadan fell in May
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
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