Iraq Situation Report September 1 - 3, 2015
Key Takeaway: The powerbrokers leading the most lethal Iranian-backed Shi'a militias are taking actions to undermine PM Abadi's reforms. Leader of Kata'ib Hezbollah, Abu Mahdi Muhandis and leader of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Ameri, visited to the head of Iraq's Judiciary, Medhat al-Mahmud.
Key Takeaway: The powerbrokers leading the most lethal Iranian-backed Shi'a militias are taking actions to undermine PM Abadi's reforms. Leader of Kata'ib Hezbollah, Abu Mahdi Muhandis and leader of the Badr Organization, Hadi al-Ameri, visited to the head of Iraq's Judiciary, Medhat al-Mahmud.
They likely aimed to ensure that Medhat cooperates with their political agenda, and their personal visit in itself – a rst for Muhandis – is in itself a threat. While in o ce, Mahmud can be one of the strongest obstacles to PM Abadi’s reforms. e Iranian-backed militias, including Kata’ib Hezbollah, the Badr Organization, and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, all have a vested interest in thwarting PM Abadi’s reforms, especially the attempt to eliminate the vice presidential positions and thereby expel VP Nouri al-Maliki, who has been aligning himself with the militias for months.
Together they represent an enduring threat to PM Abadi and his reforms. Meanwhile, ISIS continues to be major source of security threat as the ISF face challenges in their ongoing operation against Ramadi. e organization has persisted in its attack against the ISF-held Haditha and Baghdadi areas of Anbar in a likely e ort to shift ISF resources.
ISIS’s ability to conduct military maneuver in the area indicates the presence of an uncommitted and unrestrained ISIS force in western Anbar as the ISF and militias besiege ISIS forces in Ramadi and Fallujah.
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Together they represent an enduring threat to PM Abadi and his reforms. Meanwhile, ISIS continues to be major source of security threat as the ISF face challenges in their ongoing operation against Ramadi. e organization has persisted in its attack against the ISF-held Haditha and Baghdadi areas of Anbar in a likely e ort to shift ISF resources.
ISIS’s ability to conduct military maneuver in the area indicates the presence of an uncommitted and unrestrained ISIS force in western Anbar as the ISF and militias besiege ISIS forces in Ramadi and Fallujah.
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