ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least 60,000 Shiite militiamen belonging to the to Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Units, are deployed in Baghdad to protect the city from ISIS, the Security Committee of Baghdad Provincial Council announced on Tuesday.
According to the committee, officials are not concerned about Baghdad’s security situation despite a propaganda message purportedly from its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in which the self-proclaimed "caliph" of the jihadist group promised that the Shiite-majority cities of Baghdad and Karbala are the group’s next targets.
“Experts believe sending Shiite fighters into Ramadi puts Baghdad at major risk, but it is not true because up to 60,000 fighters of Hashd al-Shaabi are inside Baghdad now,” the security council said in a statement released Tuesday.
“Only five percent of the Hashd al-Shaabi forces have been sent to Ramadi, the other 95 percent is still in Baghdad to protect the city’s security and stability,” the statement added.
At least 3,000 Hashd al-Shaabi fighters have already arrived in Anbar province, the Anbar Provincial Council said on Sunday.
According to the committee, officials are not concerned about Baghdad’s security situation despite a propaganda message purportedly from its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in which the self-proclaimed "caliph" of the jihadist group promised that the Shiite-majority cities of Baghdad and Karbala are the group’s next targets.
“Experts believe sending Shiite fighters into Ramadi puts Baghdad at major risk, but it is not true because up to 60,000 fighters of Hashd al-Shaabi are inside Baghdad now,” the security council said in a statement released Tuesday.
“Only five percent of the Hashd al-Shaabi forces have been sent to Ramadi, the other 95 percent is still in Baghdad to protect the city’s security and stability,” the statement added.
At least 3,000 Hashd al-Shaabi fighters have already arrived in Anbar province, the Anbar Provincial Council said on Sunday.
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