Iraq begins merging Kataib Imam Ali into state forces
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq's Joint Operations Command announced Wednesday that a specialized committee tasked with disengagement and integration into the security forces has received the files and data covering the fighters, weapons, equipment, and vehicles of the Imam Ali Brigades Kataib Imam Ali, in preparation for completing merger and reorganization procedures.
The command said that the committee continues its work under the government program ratified by the Council of Representatives, under the supervision of its chairman, Lieutenant General Qais al-Mohammadawi, who oversaw the handover of files in the presence of committee members and brigade leadership. “The procedures are preliminary steps toward completing the merger phases, reorganizing the forces, and abolishing the separate names and designations of these formations.”
Read more: Iraq to integrate 35K faction fighters into state forces
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi reached an understanding with Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali to form a joint committee that would coordinate placing weapons under state control within 48 hours, following a meeting with delegations from each faction. Al-Zaidi reaffirmed Tuesday that his government remains committed to the process.
The Coordination Framework —the umbrella grouping of Iraq's main Shiite political forces— authorized al-Zaidi to take all measures necessary to safeguard the country's supreme national interests, announcing its backing for the state weapons monopoly project and calling for severing the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) from all political, partisan, and social affiliations.
Kataib Hezbollah and Ashab al-Kahf have rejected any calls for disengagement. Harakat al-Nujaba described calls for a monopoly of arms by the state as pressure on resistance groups and the PMF, with its leadership warning that selective enforcement would deepen existing tensions.
Kataib Imam Ali emerged in 2014 during the mass mobilization that followed Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani's call to fight ISIS, operating as the PMF's 40th Brigade while maintaining ideological alignment with Iran.
