Abadi's plan to dismantle Iranian-backed IMIS militias revealed
(Article from Faron Davis)


Under pressure from allies in the West, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is staking his career on reining in the Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria (IMIS) that helped him defeat ISIS, Reuters reported.


The task will not be easy. The paramilitaries, or IMIS, are mostly trained and backed by Iran, so Abadi risks angering his most powerful regional backer.


Iraq’s Shia majority also see IMIS' 150,000 terrorists as their saviors. Several militia commanders plan to run against Abadi in parliamentary elections in May and some have warned they will resist attempts to dismantle them.


Abadi’s plan envisages taking back the militias’ heavy weapons and cutting their strength by half, according to military and intelligence sources.


The army is already taking an inventory of IMIS weaponry, such as the armored vehicles and tanks the government gave them to fight ISIS.


Next, Abadi will order his military and police commanders to take back those heavy weapons under the pretext of repairing them. The defense ministry will then remove over-age or physically unfit fighters, two military sources said.


“The plan will be implemented with extreme caution and precision in order to prevent a negative backlash from IMIS commanders,” said an army colonel who was briefed on it by his commander. “We can’t keep a second army within one state; this is the key objective of the plan.”

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