Islamic State in Northern Iraq Weakened but Still Dangerous, Say Militia Commanders

In an exclusive interview with The Media Line, commanders from the Popular Mobilization Forces say Islamic State is still carrying out attacks, while an expert says the West must engage with the PMF or risk missing developments

[Northern Iraq] Islamic State’s operational capacities have been severely diminished since the extremist group’s so-called caliphate collapsed in 2017, but it still has the ability to carry out terrorist attacks, several commanders of one of the militias fighting the group in northern Iraq said in an exclusive interview with The Media Line.

A 38-year-old commander using the pseudonym Maj. Gen. Abu Ashur said that Islamic State’s tactics had changed significantly since the 2017 liberation of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, by the Iraqi Army, the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Forces, and the Popular Mobilization Forces. Abu Ashur belongs to the PMF, a state-sponsored, mostly Shia Muslim umbrella organization of some 67 armed factions, some of which pledge allegiance to Iran and are considered terrorist groups by several countries, including the United States.

They [Islamic State] are not like they were before organizationally. They now act more like a drug cartel or gangsters than any form of state.

“They [Islamic State] are not like they were before organizationally. They now act more like a drug cartel or gangsters than any form of state,” Abu Ashur said.

“The tactics have entirely changed, 180 degrees. They are not trying now to build any state or attack any sects or even any major checkpoints. They are mostly using lone-wolf attacks or kidnapping farmers [for ransom].”

This also means that Iraq’s counterterrorism approach has changed.

“Yes, we have retaken lands in northern Iraq [from Islamic State], but that was the military phase of the operation. We are now in the security phase of the operation, and this phase has not ended,” he said.

“Our militia, our country, and our leader are currently under US sanctions. However, we are still carrying out various counter-operations against the extremists, which helps the Americans and the West.”

Abu Ashur, whose unit is based near the Christian town of Qaraqosh, said that Islamic State extremists are exploiting the terrain and the poorly governed areas to its south.

This man, allegedly a member of an IS sleeper cell, was killed by members of the Shabak tribe, which coordinates with Abu Ashur’s Christian tribe. (Owen Holdaway/The Media Line)

“We recently carried out some operations with Balak fighters [a Kurdish group in the PMF] and killed around six terrorists in the Makhmour and Gwer areas,” he said. “It is here that there are a series of hills and mountains, and they are using this area to hide and launch attacks from.”

Abu Ashur also said that recent claims that the Iraqis have been killing the leaders of terrorist groups in this area were incorrect.

IS sleeper cells hide easily in desert areas near the ancient site of Hatra. (Owen Holdaway/The Media Line)

“They claim they kill these leaders, but the leaders are not in Iraq. They have no control in Makhmour or in the Hamrin mountains. It is only in the media that they say that they are capturing and killing the leaders,” he said.

Another Shia PMF commander based near the ancient city of Hatra said that Islamic State sleeper cells have also operated in his area.

Hatra, in northern Iraq. shortly after PMU took over, after the liberation from Islamic State in 2017. (Owen Holdaway/The Media Line)

“In our area, they have a strong military and transport network and travel routes between Syria to Iraq. The border is very porous, and many tribes and families cross freely,” said the 40-year-old commander, who used the name Abu Jabri. “The terrorists exploit this, and hide amongst these farmers, civilians, and in the mountains.”

At the moment they are just trying to recruit more members, especially since they lost so many of their experienced fighters in the battle of Mosul. However, that could change. They have enough weapons to become a threat.

Hatra, a UNESCO world heritage site, was liberated by the PMF shortly before the Mosul liberation operation began, but it has remained a safe haven and an operating base for the extremists. Abu Jabri, whose militia is one of the largest in northwestern Iraq, said that Islamic State still represents a significant threat.

“At the moment they are just trying to recruit more members, especially since they lost so many of their experienced fighters in the battle of Mosul,” he said.  “However, that could change. They have enough weapons to become a threat.”

He said his unit had recently found a massive cache of weapons hidden by the extremists.

“There is an area known as the stone hills where there are a lot of natural caves. We conducted an operation in the area, and found one cave with thousands of AK-47s, TNT, mortar shells and mines, all types of weapons,” Abu Jabri said.

Dr. Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer in the School of Security Studies at King’s College London and author of the book “Socio-Political Order and Security in the Arab World,” said the West is making an error by not engaging with the PMF, especially in this area of northern Iraq, where the central government, based in Baghdad, has little control.

Dr. Andreas Krieg, with peshmerga forces, in 2015. (Courtesy Dr. Andreas Krieg)

“We in the West tend to take a state-centric approach and go through Baghdad, but in places like Iraq, the state simply does not have the monopoly on violence. Baghdad has shown itself to be incapable of being that one point of contact,” he said.

Krieg, who has spent a significant amount of time in northern Iraq, believes that the West should engage with all parties to deal with the terrorism threat.

Economic grievances are growing across the region and in Iraq, and this will only give support to other nonstate actors, including terrorist networks

“According to my research in Iraq, we need an approach where there is a sharing of governance between state and nonstate actors,” he said. “It needs to be more of a hybrid and comprehensive approach. Put simply, if we don’t, we will only be engaging and tapping into one network.”

Krieg said there is a real risk that the West could miss the rise or reconstitution of terrorist safe havens and networks if it does not engage with groups such as the PMF.

“Economic grievances are growing across the region and in Iraq, and this will only give support to other nonstate actors, including terrorist networks,” he said. “We need a more comprehensive approach that considers other actors, including the PMF, otherwise the problem of state failure will be exploited by terrorist groups.”