| Photo Credit: APIn his martyrdom, he has virtually become a new saint for Iraq’s Shiites. The whipping up of religious fervor around the militiamen is also part of an ongoing struggle for leadership of Iraq’s Shiites between Iran and al-Sistani. Iranian-backed militias evoke connections with Imam Hussein and Imam Mahdi to gain legitimacy among the Shiite community. One video purports to be drone footage showing Imam Mahdi himself backing militiamen defending the shrine of Mahdi’s father in the city of Samarra. Since his martyrdom, al-Salhi has been held up as the ideal pious Shiite.

Source: The Hindu December 30, 2017 08:59 UTC