Will Popular Mobilization Units join operations to liberate Mosul?
On March 24, Brig. Gen. Yahay Rasoul, the spokesman for the Joint Special Operations Command, the special operations task force in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), told Iraqi state TV that the operation to liberate Mosul was jointly launched by the Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition. Prior to the announcement, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement in February that […]Ali Mamouri writes for Al-Monitor:
On March 24, Brig. Gen. Yahay Rasoul, the spokesman for the Joint Special Operations Command, the special operations task force in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), told Iraqi state TV that the operation to liberate Mosul was jointly launched by the Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition. Prior to the announcement, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement in February that the campaign to liberate Mosul would be launched soon. In a TV statement Dec. 28, he said that the mission would be completed in 2016.
However, disagreements between the forces that will be involved in the Mosul liberation continue to prevail in the political scene. This is true particularly since the Arab Sunnis fear the engagement of the peshmerga forces and the predominantly Shiite Popular Mobilization Units in the fighting in Mosul. This fear is understandable since the peshmerga forces represent the Kurds and the Popular Mobilization Units represent the Shiites. Sunni Arabs have warned against the presence of these two forces in Mosul and its surroundings, as the Sunnis fear the repercussions that could occur if Kurdish and Shiite forces enter the city, which has a Sunni majority and other small minorities.
