A letter published on Iraqi state media, addressed to the head of the PMF, a predominantly Shiite network of around 60 paramilitaries, says that four brigades will fall under the “command and management” of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces– a role Abdul-Mahdi currently occupies as caretaker prime minister – and not under the direct command of the PMF board.
The four brigades include the 2nd, 11th, 26th, and 44th brigades of the PMF, which are all loyal to Iraq’s highest Shiite religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and not under the influence of Tehran.
