A spokesman for one of the larger Shiite militias welcomed the legislation as a well-deserved victory. The law, tabled by parliament’s largest Shiite bloc, applies to the Shiite militias fighting IS as well as the much smaller and weaker anti-IS Sunni Arab groups. It has also excluded the Shiite militias from the battle, winning a measure of goodwill from the Sunnis. The Shiite militias, most of which are backed by Iran, have been bankrolled and equipped by the government since shortly after IS swept across much of northern and western Iraq two years ago. Iraq’s Sunni Arabs and rights groups have long complained that the militiamen have been involved in extrajudicial killings, abuse and the theft or destruction of property in Sunni areas.

Source: Washington Post November 26, 2016 11:15 UTC