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Drone Footage Shows Popular Mobilization Units Headed Towards Mosul Front

As Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga military operations against the Islamic-State held city of Mosul continued on October 20, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Shiite militias organized under the auspices of the Interior Ministry, deployed to areas west of Mosul.

While the Iraqi military continues to push towards Mosul from the southern axis and the Peshmerga from the northeast, the PMUs, whose fighters total approximately 4,000, have been tasked with securing the Western front. In an effort to avoid an escalation in sectarian tensions, an issue which has left the PMUs on the sidelines of other offensives in Sunni-majority areas of the country, the PMUs will deploy in less of an offensive role, patrolling and holding onto newly captured territories, rather than liberate previously IS-controlled towns and villages. Credit: YouTube/Iraq Popular Mobilization Units Media