Iraq’s anti-terror resistance group Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), also known as Hashd al-Sha’abi, held a military parade in the eastern Diyala province to mark the seventh anniversary of its formation.

The parade began on Saturday morning at the Abu Montazer al-Muhammadavi base, northeast of provincial capital Baqubah, with PMU commanders, government officials and martyrs’ families as well as religious, cultural and social figures in attendance.

It is the first military parade by the resistance group involving infantry, combat and support units.

Speaking before the parade, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said, “I salute the children of Iraq, the hero children of Hashd al-Sha’abi, on the anniversary of its establishment. The children of Hashd al-Sha’abi are the children of the government, and they continue any efforts that serve our nation and homeland.”

“You and security forces defeated terrorism, and there are many things ahead of you. Hashd al-Sha’abi will be preserved with your vigilance, order and expertise. Alongside you, we will restore Iraq’s historical role in the region. I salute you for your courage and the sacrifices of the martyrs and their families,” he added.

The newly-elected prime minister of Iraq has visited the command center of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) in Baghdad, wearing their uniform and calling the counter-terrorism forces a source of honor for the Iraqi nation.

In a TV program on Friday, PMU chief Falih al-Fayyadh stressed that the parade will strengthen the group’s power and discipline.

Hashd al-Sha’abi is a military institution affiliated to the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces and operates under the Joint Operations Command, he said, noting that the Iraqi nation comprises the core of the pro-government group, which is supported by a fatwa (religious decree) issued by the Iraqi religious authority.

Hashd al-Sha’abi is a government-sponsored umbrella organization composed of around 40 factions of volunteer counter-terrorism forces, including mostly Shia Muslims besides Sunni Muslims, Christians and Kurds.

Its formation goes back to the summer of 2014, shortly after Daesh, the world’s most notorious terror group, managed to occupy swathes of territory in Iraq.

The lightning gains made by the terrorists caught the national army of Iraq off guard, pushing government forces to the verge of collapse and leaving the Arab state in disarray.

On June 15 that year, Iraq’s prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani intervened to help rebuild the national army, and issued a fatwa that called on all Iraqi people to join forces with the army in the face of the Daesh threat.

The historic fatwa led to a mass mobilization of popular volunteer forces under the banner of Hashd al-Sha’abi. The force then rushed to the aid of the army and took the lead in many of the successful anti-terror operations, which ultimately led to the collapse of Daesh’s territorial rule and the liberation of the entire Iraqi land in December 2017.

In November 2016, the Iraqi parliament recognized Hashd al-Sha’abi as an official force with similar rights as those of the regular army, therefore legally establishing it as part of the National Armed Forces.

The chairman of Iraq’s anti-terror Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) denounces the destabilizing role of American troops in the Arab country, saying they are targeting Iraqi forces instead of supporting them

However, the West and especially the U.S., which is occupying parts of Iraq, has long been seeking to dissolve Hashd al-Sha’abi and constrain its role. It has also targeted resistance fighters in a bid to resuscitate Daesh.

Formation of such resistance groups in any country can help it to expel foreign forces as the Iraqi have done and American forces now have to leave Iraq or face the tough response from these groups.

The occupiers only understand the language of force and only resistance against them will pay otherwise the countries have to suffer under the boost of the occupiers.

Hashd al-Sha’abi has proved like Hezbollah forces and Hams that only resistance can bring down the occupiers and aliens and as the group has strengthened Iraq government’s stand against the West and has asked the foreign troops to leave the country because the resistance groups all support the government on this issue and the Western forces have no way but to leave the country or they pay for their illegal presence.

The Americans or Europeans may call Hashd al-Sha’abi a terrorist group but everybody knows that this is the West’s habit to designate freedom fighters as terrorists while they themselves have been creator of the terrorist groups like Daesh.

History has shown that resistance groups have been behind independence of countries in any part of the world from South America to Africa and groups like Hashd al-Shabi are formed only to save countries from occupation and they only seek independence of their countries from the occupation and meddling of occupiers.

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The recent operations that almost ended the presence of ISIS in the hotspots east of Salahuddin and Kirkuk indicate that the PMF penetrated the depth of the terror group’s strongholds in al-Zarka sector where the security forces have not entered these areas before, Ali al-Husseini, a spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Units, told Shafaq News Agency on Tuesday.

He confirmed the destruction of a large headquarters of ISIS ringleader by the PMU and security forces, which contains rooms, supplies, and equipment, as well as secret documents that cannot be disclosed in Al-Zarka sector, indicating that the headquarters belongs to the new Daesh leader in Iraq or a regional leader of the terrorist organization.

“The eastern areas of Salahuddin and Kirkuk are almost empty of ISIS, with the exception of individual numbers moving between the regions in search of escape havens from the security forces.”

During the past few days, comprehensive security operations were launched on the northern and eastern outskirts of Diyala, with Kirkuk and Salahuddin, as well as other operations between Salahuddin and Kirkuk called “the heroes of Iraq – the victory of sovereignty” to purge those areas of ISIS hotspots and dens.

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Iraq’s Shafaq news agency quoted the source as saying that ISIS militants detonated two towers and damaged a third using explosive devices, in the village of Al-Tineh, north of Mansouriya.

The source said that the towers are part of the strategic power transmission line between Mansouriya and Kirkuk, explaining that the damages caused extensive blackouts in several regions.

According to the source, Iraq’s security forces, Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and local tribesmen launched a search campaign for the perpetrators in the incident’s vicinity, but it appears they had fled to the rugged mountainous areas.

The power transmission lines which extend from Iran to Baghdad via Diyala have been subjected to numerous attacks in the past, amid popular and official demands to form special forces to protect them.

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The ISIS terrorists’ gatherings in the areas of al-Hamiza and Abu Raqabah were shelled by Iraq PMU troops late on Friday, the popular group said in a statement on Saturday, according to Iraq’s Baghdad al-Youm website.

The attacks claimed the lives of scores of the terrorists, it added.

On Tuesday, the PMU forces used mortar shells and artillery rounds to destroy an ISIS hideout near the Alas oilfields, located northeast of Tikrit, the provincial capital of Salahuddin province.

ISIS has intensified its attacks in Iraq amid Baghdad’s call on the US to pull out its forces from the Arab country.

In a vote on January 5, the Iraqi parliament called for an end to the presence of all foreign troops, including Americans.

The vote came two days after the US military – acting on US President Donald Trump’s order – launched a fatal drone strike on senior Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani upon his arrival in the Iraqi capital at the invitation of the Baghdad government.

The attack also claimed the lives of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of the PMU, and eight other Iranian and Iraqi people.

Washington has threatened sanctions should US troops be expelled instead of heeding the Iraqi parliament’s call to end the occupation of the country.

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“Iran supports Iraq’s efforts in the fight against terrorism and the establishment of peace and stability in the country and condemns any attempt for destabilizing Iraq,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said in a statement.

Mousavi slammed the “cowardly act” by ISIS terrorists that led to the killing of at least 10 fighters of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha’abi in the Salahuddin town of Mekeeshfa and the city of Balad.

The spokesman expressed hope that Iraq would get rid of the remnants of “vicious terrorist group” as soon as possible with joint efforts of the Iraqi government and people.

Hashd al-Sha’abi said its forces had killed and wounded a number of ISIS elements and pushed them back.

Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi paid tribute to families of the victims.

“It is with great sadness, we received news of the martyrdom of a group heroes from among the Hashd al-Sha’abi who died defending their homeland.”

Reviving ISIS

Iraq’s Badr Organization, which is part of the PMU, said the US and Saudi Arabia are seeking to reactivate ISIS, adding that recent attacks by the terrorist group serve that aim.

Speaking to Arabic-language Al-Maalomah news agency, Mohammed Mahdi al-Bayati, a senior leader in the Badr Organization, revealed fresh attempts by Washington and Riyadh to facilitate the return of fugitive ISIS terrorists to Iraq.

The latest deadly terrorist attacks, which were conducted on Iraqi soil with the US and Saudi backing, were part of a plot to bring ISIS back, he added.

Bayati also noted that renewed US-Saudi support for Daesh is similar to that of 2014 when the terrorist outfit unleashed a campaign of death and destruction in Iraq and overran vast swathes in lightning attacks.

He further raised concerns about possible terrorist attacks in the provinces of Salahuddin, Kirkuk, and Anbar.

Mohanad Najim Aleqabi, the director-general of the Hash al-Sha’abi media war, told Al Maydeen TV channel that the ISIS attack in Salahuddin was carried out from four fronts.

Some of the equipment used by ISIS elements were new, he said, adding that most terror groups entered Iraq from Syria after the US facilitated their passage.

The fresh ISIS attack comes at a time when American forces are required to leave Iraq based on a parliamentary resolution approved in January following the US assassination of senior Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

The US has not only defied calls to withdraw from Iraq but also reinforced its military presence there by deploying troops and equipment.

Press TV contributed to this story.

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