Wahab Mohammed, a district official in the ethnically mixed district of Qara Tapa, said Friday the presence of fighters from the Shiite militia group known as the Popular Mobilization Units, or Hashd al-Shabi in Arabic, was not needed in the area and the local people did not ask them to come.
“We don’t need the Hashd al-Shabi forces in Qara Tapa,” Mohammed told Rudaw. “They are not a threat to us, but their presence is in no benefit either”
The Hashd al-Shabi have been fighting ISIS militants in parts of the disputed areas despite a strong presence of Peshmerga troops in the same area.
According to officials in Qara Tapa, more than 2,000 Kurdish Peshmerga and an estimated 450 Shiite fighters are based in the district to fend off ISIS.
A Peshmerga commander on the Qara Tapa frontline said the two fighting groups had established a joint defense.
“They are now responsible for the protection of some parts of the region and they are in full coordination with Peshmerga forces,” the commander said.
Hadi al-Ameri, head of the Badr Organization and a leader of the Hasd al-Shaabi, organized a militia comprised of Shiite-Turkmen residents when he visited Qara Tapa last year.
The district is home to Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen.
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