Iraq: PMF Orders Closure of its Offices in Liberated Cities

Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces advance toward Tal Afar, Iraq, on Aug. 22, 2017. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP
Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces advance toward Tal Afar, Iraq, on Aug. 22, 2017. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP
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Iraq: PMF Orders Closure of its Offices in Liberated Cities

Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces advance toward Tal Afar, Iraq, on Aug. 22, 2017. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP
Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces advance toward Tal Afar, Iraq, on Aug. 22, 2017. Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) ordered on Monday the withdrawal of its forces from Iraqi cities,mainly areas liberated from ISIS in the provinces of Salahuddin, Anbar and Nineveh.

The Iran-backed PMF also ordered the closure of its offices in cities seized from ISIS.

“PMF headquarters will be moved outside of liberated cities, and all offices under any name linked to the PMF will be closed in the liberated areas,” read an official document issued Monday by the Deputy Commander of the forces, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

He also warned that the brigades who remain loyal and committed to their supporting sides would be dealt with as a rogue force.

Armed groups expert Dr. Hisham al-Hashemi on Monday expressed doubt that the decision to pull out of several Iraqi cities was purely local.

“It is rather linked to separate meetings held between Omani officials and each of US and Iranian officials amid talks on the withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria and on curbing Iran’s influence in Iraq,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Politically, analysts said that Kurds and Sunnis have been playing with the nerves of Shiite blocs wishing to form the next government.

A meeting was held Sunday between the two principal Kurdish parties (Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and the newly formed Sunni Arab ‘National Axis Alliance’ to discuss the formation of the new cabinet.

During the meeting, both sides agreed to continue collaboration “for active participation in the political process in implementing and taking into consideration the principles that can serve partnership of all the components in the next Iraqi government.”



Hamas Armed Wing Says It Lost Contact with Group Holding Israeli-US Hostage Alexander

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters)
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Hamas Armed Wing Says It Lost Contact with Group Holding Israeli-US Hostage Alexander

Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters)
Smoke billows after an Israeli strike on Gaza. (Reuters)

The armed wing of Hamas said on Tuesday it had lost contact with a group of fighters holding Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Ubaida, the armed wing's spokesperson, said on the Telegram that it lost contact after the Israeli army attacked the place where the fighters were holding Alexander, who is a New Jersey native and a 21-year-old soldier in the Israeli army.

Abu Ubaida did not say where in Gaza Alexander was purportedly held. The armed wing later released a video warning hostages families that their "children will return in black coffins with their bodies torn apart from shrapnel from your army".

Hamas has previously blamed Israel for the deaths of hostages held in Gaza, including as a direct result of military operations, while also acknowledging on at least one occasion that a hostage was killed by a guard. It said the guard had acted against instructions.

There was no immediate response from the Israeli military to a request for comment on the Hamas statement about Alexander.

President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters at the White House in March that gaining the release of Alexander, believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, was a "top priority for us".

The Tikva Forum, a group representing some family members of those held in Gaza, had said earlier on Tuesday that Alexander was among up to 10 hostages who could be released by Hamas if a new ceasefire was reached, citing a conversation a day earlier between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the mother of another hostage. There was no immediate comment on that from Netanyahu's office.

On Saturday Hamas released a video purportedly showing Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since he was captured by Palestinian gunmen on October 7, 2023.

The release of Alexander was at the center of earlier talks held between Hamas leaders and US hostage negotiator Adam Boehler last month.

Hamas released 38 hostages under a ceasefire that began on January 19. In March, Israel's military resumed its ground and aerial offensive on Gaza, abandoning the ceasefire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.

Israeli officials say that offensive will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarized. Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.