Hashd al-Shaabi tasked with securing Iraq's Saladin

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi, a predominantly Shia military force, has been tasked with securing Saladin province’s majority-Sunni Al-Tarmia district.

On Wednesday, a Hashd al-Shaabi brigade assumed responsibility for security in Al-Tarmia (located roughly 40 kilometers north of Baghdad), replacing a joint army/police force, Karim al-Saadi, a Hashd al-Shaabi captain, told Anadolu Agency.

The new deployment, he said, was intended to “fill security gaps in the district, which can easily be used as a staging ground for attacks by Daesh terrorists”.

Al-Saadi did not say which federal authority had issued the deployment order, nor did he say how long the deployment was expected to last.

It is the first time for the Hashd al-Shaabi to be tasked with maintaining security in Al-Tarmia, which in recent years was the scene of intense Daesh activity.

Some Sunni political groups demand that the Hashd al-Shaabi withdraw from Sunni-majority areas before parliamentary polls are conducted in May.