Description

This study reviews the circumstances that led to the events of Mosul in 2014 when ISIS controlled the city located in Nineveh Governorate and its other cities, in addition to a lot of other cities in Anbar, Salahuddin, Diyala and Kirkuk governorates. The growing spread of Daesh’s threat made the Grand Shiite cleric ‘Ali Al-Sistani’ to issue a religious edict (Fatwa) that is called the “defending jihad”. This fatwa paved the way for the popular mobilization forces formation. Therefore, this study focuses on this largest military organization from different perspectives as it provides deep understanding of its backgrounds, military functions and relations with the main Iraqi actors, USA and Iran. It reconsiders the Iranian role for supporting the formation of this Shiite military force, the nature of their linkage to each other and the growing role that can be played by the Popular Mobilization Forces in the future.