Moqtada Tateral-Sadr
... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah...
has urged to subject paramilitary forces fighting the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
to state control, further adding to the uniqueness of his stances from mainstream Shia politicians.
Delivering a speech to hundreds of thousands of his followers at al-Tahrir Square in Baghdad, al-Sadr urged to incorporate the Popular Mobilization Forces within the official Iraqi army and ensure it operates under the state’s oversight. He stressed on the importance of "placing weapons within the state’s hands exclusively".
The Shia-led Popular Mobilization Forces were formed in 2014 as per an edict by Iraq’s top Shia clergy to combat IS hard boys. They won government recognition as a national force under the prime minister’s command, but have faced recurrent accusations of human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
breaches and stirred controversy over reports they crossed the borders into Syria to fight IS by the side of Syrian government troops.
The demonstrations on Friday were organized upon a call from al-Sadr to protest the electoral system designed for the local elections slated for early 2018, which he deems unfair. He had led protests over the past months condemning the formation of the panel tasked with supervising the elections. The demonstrations turned violent and left casualties at one occasion.