Iraq seeks to combine Sunni, Shiite troops
As part of the national reconciliation, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered that the Sunni Ninevah Guard be included in the Popular Mobilization Units.
BAGHDAD — Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) is stirring up more controversy, this time over an order to integrate the primarily Shiite force with fighters from the Ninevah Guard, a mainly Sunni group.
The Ninevah Guard, previously known as the National Mobilization Forces, had been banned from participating in the battle of Mosul, and a former leader, Atheel al-Nujaifi, is a wanted man. Yet Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi gave the order to merge the groups on Dec. 31.
