The Iran-linked group that claims it was targeted by US-Saudi airstrikes Wednesday is part of an Iraqi security apparatus formed more than a decade ago to fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) is an umbrella organization within Iraq’s official security forces, which Iran has increasingly co-opted to wield its influence in the neighboring country. It is mostly made up of Shiite paramilitary groups.
It was established in 2014 as ISIS advanced across Iraq. Calling for Iraqis to volunteer alongside state forces, the government brought new volunteers and existing militias under the PMF umbrella. It played a major role in defeating ISIS and retaking Iraqi territory, before being formally incorporated into the state security apparatus in 2016.
Some powerful militias within the PMF have close ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and form part of Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance” in the region, along with groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen. These Tehran-backed PMF groups have frequently launched attacks against the US and its allies in the Middle East.
