Popular Mobilization Forces
Iraqi umbrella organization of militias incorporated into the military forces
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; Arabic: قوات الحشد الشعبي, romanized: Quwwāt al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella group that operates within Iraq. Although formally and legally part of the Iraqi Armed Forces and reporting directly to the prime minister, PMF leaders act independently from state control and, in practice, answer to the supreme leader of Iran.
The PMF is composed of about 67 primarily Shia armed factions, almost all of which are Iranian-backed and openly pledge allegiance to the supreme leader of Iran. In 2024, the PMF's chief of staff, Abu Fadak al-Mohammadawi, openly declared that the PMF took orders from Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei's father and predecessor Ali Khamenei. PMF chairman Falih al-Fayyadh cooperates with the Iranian IRGC to implement Iranian instructions in Iraq and reinforce Iranian influence over the militias.
The PMF was formed in 2014 and fought in nearly every major battle during the War in Iraq against the Islamic State. In December 2016, the Council of Representatives passed a law defining the PMF's legal status under the Popular Mobilization Commission (PMC; Arabic: هيئة الحشد الشعبي), including all PMF groups.
Many of its main forces that belong to the Shia faction trace their origins to the "Special Groups", Iranian-sponsored Shia groups that previously fought in the Iraqi insurgency against the United States and the Coalition forces, as well as a simultaneous sectarian conflict against Sunni Jihadist and Ba'athist insurgents. Pro-Iran organizations in the PMF include the Badr Organization, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah, Kata'ib al-Imam Ali, Saraya Khorasani, etc. Several militant groups received training and strategic aid from Hezbollah's Unit 3800.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Popular Mobilization Forces” is iraqi umbrella organization of militias incorporated into the military forces. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Popular, Mobilization and Forces, not as a finished interpretation.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19610107. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2024, 2014 and 2016.
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