Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq's effort to place all weapons under state control will apply onlyto factions affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a predominantlyShiite umbrella force incorporated into the Iraqi state in 2016, with no plansto integrate armed groups from outside the organization, a senior securityofficial noted on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters, Qais Al-Muhammadawi, head of the committee responsiblefor disengagement and restricting weapons to state control, said Iraq is movingto end the association of weapons with political or religious entities,stressing that all formations within the PMF will ultimately fall under aunified command structure linked exclusively to the state.
The process, he explained, is being carried out through coordinationbetween the Iraqi military and the groups that possess weapons, emphasizingthat efforts to restrict arms to state control should not become a source ofinternal political disputes.
In a separate security development, Al-Muhammadawi revealed that Iraqiauthorities had thwarted operations targeting neighboring countries, withoutproviding further details. Iraq, he stressed, will not allow its territory tobe used to launch attacks against any neighboring state.
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