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As US pressure increases on Iran-backed militias, they turn to Iran

Iran-backed PMU factions are under intense pressure from the Iraqi government and the public, leading them to Iran.

TOPSHOT - A fighter of the Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization units) flashes the victory gesture while carrying a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher during the advance through the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, after the Iraqi government announced the launch of the operation to retake it from Islamic State (IS) group control, on August 26, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE        (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)
A PMU fighter flashes the victory sign while carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, Tal Afar, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2017. — AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images

Iran-backed Shiite militias have been under increasing pressure recently in Iraq not only from the United States — which monitors their activities closely — but also from the public and the Iraqi government.

During an interview Aug. 9 with a small group of Iraqi and foreign media representatives, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said he has already begun implementing a decree he issued last month regarding the regulation of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). Abdul Mahdi said although some of the PMU have concerns about the decree and have questioned it, "We are continuing the implementation of the decree as the majority of the PMU are supporting it."

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