In describing the three years he spent fighting the Islamic State
(ISIS) militant group from the banks of the Tigris to the Makhoul
mountains and Iraq’s desert frontier with Syria, Mohammed Jassem did
not call himself a soldier.
Fresh from battle, flush with victory, Jassem is a Shiite holy warrior, a mujahid.
On his battered mobile phone, Jassem played a grainy video from November 2017 of fighting in the deserts around al-Qa’im, the last ISIS-held town in Iraq, before the vital strategic link in the militants’ once expansive supply network was liberated.
As ISIS overran vast swathes of the country and appeared poised to take the capital, Baghdad, the leader of Iraq’s highest Shiite religious authority, Ayatollah Sistani, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, compelling all the faithful to protect their homeland from ISIS.
The militias were joined by Sunnis, Yazidis, Christians and other minorities, but in far fewer numbers. As ISIS was pushed back from Tikrit and then from Sunni strongholds in Fallujah, Ramadi and finally Mosul, it was Shiite fighters—prominently backed by Iran—who led the way. Many Shiites now view the victory not only as a force of will but as an act of God.
Iraq’s Kurds also criticized Iran. Before the battle to defeat ISIS was over, the coalition against the militants—the Hashid, government soldiers, the international community and the Kurdish Peshmerga—imploded, with Iraqi forces driving the Kurds from Kirkuk, a contested city seized by Kurdish forces early in the war. Iraqi Kurdistan’s regional government accused Iran, and Soleimani in particular, of orchestrating the attacks.
Alkareem explained that the majority of the what he termed “interference” predominantly involved Shiite militiamen and Sunni residents. As far as he is concerned, in the Sunni heartlands that fueled and supported the ISIS advance, the hashid must be removed unless history is to repeat itself.
“The federal government, for their part, needs to strengthen the security forces,” he said. “We don't want people from the south coming and guarding our places. We can do that on our own.”
Read more: After ISIS, Two Iraqs Emerge in Iran's Shadow
Fresh from battle, flush with victory, Jassem is a Shiite holy warrior, a mujahid.
On his battered mobile phone, Jassem played a grainy video from November 2017 of fighting in the deserts around al-Qa’im, the last ISIS-held town in Iraq, before the vital strategic link in the militants’ once expansive supply network was liberated.
As ISIS overran vast swathes of the country and appeared poised to take the capital, Baghdad, the leader of Iraq’s highest Shiite religious authority, Ayatollah Sistani, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, compelling all the faithful to protect their homeland from ISIS.
The militias were joined by Sunnis, Yazidis, Christians and other minorities, but in far fewer numbers. As ISIS was pushed back from Tikrit and then from Sunni strongholds in Fallujah, Ramadi and finally Mosul, it was Shiite fighters—prominently backed by Iran—who led the way. Many Shiites now view the victory not only as a force of will but as an act of God.
Iraq’s Kurds also criticized Iran. Before the battle to defeat ISIS was over, the coalition against the militants—the Hashid, government soldiers, the international community and the Kurdish Peshmerga—imploded, with Iraqi forces driving the Kurds from Kirkuk, a contested city seized by Kurdish forces early in the war. Iraqi Kurdistan’s regional government accused Iran, and Soleimani in particular, of orchestrating the attacks.
Alkareem explained that the majority of the what he termed “interference” predominantly involved Shiite militiamen and Sunni residents. As far as he is concerned, in the Sunni heartlands that fueled and supported the ISIS advance, the hashid must be removed unless history is to repeat itself.
“The federal government, for their part, needs to strengthen the security forces,” he said. “We don't want people from the south coming and guarding our places. We can do that on our own.”
Read more: After ISIS, Two Iraqs Emerge in Iran's Shadow
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