In The Deserts of Anbar, US And Pro-Iran Forces Jostle

[TomSea]

In The Deserts of Anbar, US And Pro-Iran Forces Jostle
Kamal al-Ayash

Ever since the extremist group known as the Islamic State was driven out of the central Iraqi province of Anbar in late 2017, it has become somewhat of a military zone. There are a wide variety of different Iraqi military forces deployed in Anbar’s cities and in its large desert, a well-known hiding place for extremists. These forces include the mostly Shiite Muslim semi-official militias as well as militias formed by mostly Sunni Muslim local tribes and the official Iraqi army. In terms of equipment and training, the semi-official militias are far better supplied than the local fighters. There are also around 5,000 US troops on the ground here in two bases, Ain al-Asad and Habbaniyah. The former is perhaps the most important of the US bases in Iraq.

    Nobody would dare to oppose the things that the pro-Iran militias do here in Anbar - except for the Americans.

All of these forces share responsibility for Anbar’s security but they all also take advantage of the patchwork of jurisdictions and the absence of any central command to pursue their own interests.

American troops are seeking to secure their bases and to impose their presence by aerial surveillance of the desert. Meanwhile the Iraqi military and militias mostly undertake campaigns on the ground; these often involve the pursuit of fighters from the extremist Islamic State, or IS, group, who are taking refuge in the backcountry....

Read more at: https://www.niqash.org/en/articles/security/5990/In-The-Deserts-of-Anbar-US-And-Pro-Iran-Forces-Jostle.htm