Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi withdraws from parts of Nineveh

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi has withdrawn from positions south, west and east of Tal Afar, where federal government troops assumed responsibility for local security, an Iraqi military source said Thursday.

According to Army Captain Karim al-Obaidi, the Hashd al-Shaabi withdrew from several parts of Nineveh province -- including the Baaj district near the Syrian border and parts of Sinjar -- to the Tal Abta district.

“Units from the army’s 20th Division have assumed responsibility for local security in all areas from which the Hashd al-Shaabi has pulled out,” al-Obaidi told Anadolu Agency.

Last October, the Hashd al-Shaabi -- a Shia paramilitary force that works in tandem with the Iraqi army -- also withdrew from Tal Afar city west of provincial capital Mosul.

Established in 2014 with the express purpose of fighting the Daesh terrorist group, the Hashd al-Shaabi was formally incorporated into the Iraqi army in 2017.

Some of the Hashd al-Shaabi’s component factions receive support from Iran.