Militia and Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq fleeing to European countries under the pretext of refugees

November, 2015

In addition to problems regarding paychecks and living conditions of militias and members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq, their heavy casualties in various battlefields have caused a major wave of troops, and even commanders, deserting their units. According to various militia members their motivation in showing up at the front lines was to occupy lands and plunder the population’s wealth in order to make a living. Currently militia units no longer enjoy the ability to plunder items and transfer them back out of the battlefields using large trucks, as they did in the Tikrit and Salahadin operations.

In al-Anbar Province these forces have suffered major defeats, there are much less grounds left for plundering and there is no longer any motive to remain in the frontlines. PMF units are literally referred to as “disposable” soldiers for the Quds Force and their elements in Iraq such as Hadi al-Ameri and Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes. During the 1980s Iran-Iraq War Tehran used such soldiers to clear minefields. Today, in Iraq the moment they become useless for the commanders they are abandoned without any pay and commanders are even refusing to pay the expenses of those wounded, or compensate the families of those soldiers killed in battle. During the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, instigated by Khomeini, the ayatollahs constantly placed “Keys of Heaven” on the necks of Bassij forces and they would be sent off to die. Currently the Quds Force is dispatching IRGC and Bassij elements to Syria under the pretext “Defenders of the Zeinab Sanctuary” in Damascus, a similar tactic of placing heaven keys on those back in the 1980s. In Iraq the Quds Force is using PMF troops in battlefronts under the pretext of waging war against “tikfiris” and Sunnis, all aimed at provoking further flames of the raging sectarian war in Mesopotamia.

In the past two months reports have indicated a major wave of desertion from Iraq and these militia members seeking refugee status in European countries, multiplying the number of foot-soldiers fleeing their ranks. Such desertion is seen in all levels of the ranks and files, including senior militia commanders. PMF and militia troops fleeing the frontlines are not sporadic cases. In fact, there is currently a large wave of such desertions, with many stationed temporarily in Turkey and Greece. Considering their poor financial conditions they are once again hired by the Quds Force under various promises of large paychecks, this time to carry out special terrorist attacks in European countries.

The following list is merely a tip of the iceberg of the conditions of PMF and militia members deserting their ranks and fleeing to European countries to seek residency. Through Turkey and Greece many are being transferred to European countries. The average militia and PMF member who have fled from Iraq sheds a clear light on the status of these units associated to the Quds Force. Around 50% of the individuals who have fled outside of Iraq are former PMF members. Asaeb and and al-Nijba militia units comprise nearly 30% of the list, while another 20% are related to other militia groups including Katayeb Imam Ali, Katayeb Hezbollah, Badr militants, Aqida battalions, Ibna battalions, al-Jihad, Tajamo’ Do’a al-Iraq and …

#	Name	Group affiliation	Post	Battlefront	Country migrated to
1	Amir Falah Hassan al-Sheibani	Asaeb al-Haq	Engineering platoon commander	Baiji	Germany
2	Ali Reza Mohamed al-Mahdawi	Asaeb al-Haq	Mortar platoon	Al-Anbar	Serbia
3	Ammar Ghasem Muzan al-Mahdawi	Asaeb al-Haq		Dejil	Germany
4	Abdullah Hassan al-Tamimi	Asaeb al-Haq		Al-Anbar	Turkey
5	Sajjad Muzan Namaq al-Bahadeli	Asaeb al-Haq			Turkey
6	Hossein Taleb al-Karawi	Saraya-e Salam	Medic		Turkey
7	Samir Ali Vanas al-Harbawi	Saraya-e Salam	Engineering		Finland
8	Mohamed Ammar al-Saliti	Saraya-e Salam		Al-Anbar	Finland
9	Abass Ali al-Soheili	Saraya-e Salam		Al-Anbar	Belgium
10	Mohamed Taleb Ali al-Mousawi	Saraya-e Salam		Baiji	Turkey
11	Maher Rashid Kazem al-Wahili	Saraya-e Salam		Baiji	Turkey
12	Bisam Riyadh al-Sharifi	Saraya-e Salam		Jurf al-Sakhar	Greece
13	Mahmoud Abdullah Ardalan al-Dalwi	Saraya-e Salam		Baiji	Turkey
14	Bisam Allawi Nazem al-Ma’mouri	Saraya-e Salam		Al-Anbar	Turkey
15	Heidar Kazem al-Rikabi	Nijba		Jurf al-Sakhar	Greece
16	Kazem Bashar Majul al-Mohayawi	Nijba		Jurf al-Sakhar	Greece
17	Omar Finjan Shuwai al-Shawili	Saraya-e Aqida		Al-Anbar	Turkey
18	Morad Ali Faraj al-Azraqi	Asaeb al-Haq		Al-Anbar	Germany
19	Hassan Na'im Hassan al-Bahrani	Unknown	Platoon commander	Baiji	Turkey
20	Haider Mohamed Kadhem	Badr
21	Morteza Adel	Badr
22	Hossein Malek	Asaeb al-Haq
23	Naser Ra’ad Mahudar	Asaeb al-Haq
24	Ashraf Mohamed Issa Wali	Asaeb al-Haq
25	Mahdi Jilal Ahmed	Asaeb al-Haq
26	Zeid Arkan Majid al-Hasnawi	Asaeb al-Haq
27	Hassan Ali Ehsan	Nijba
28	Ali Saleh Mostafa al-Saraj	Nijba
29	Mothana Mohamed Ali al-Shawili	Katayeb Imam Ali
30	Majed Mashkur al-Diraji	Aqida
31	Anwar Abed Ali Fadhel	Aqida
32	Ahmed Mohamed Ali al-Ibrahimi	Saraya-e Salam
33	Malik Mahdi Meitham	Saraya-e Salam
34	Saeed Feisal al-Sultani	Saraya-e Salam