2026-06-03T13:10:58+00:00

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Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi on Wednesday reached
an understanding with Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali, two of Iraq’s most
powerful Iran-aligned armed factions, to form a joint committee that will
coordinate placing weapons under state control within two days.

The arrangement followed a meeting between Al-Zaidi
and delegations from each faction. The proposed committee will define
mechanisms to implement procedures linked to separating the factions from the
Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) structure and limiting weapons to state
authority in line with the constitution and Iraqi law.

Al-Zaidi also welcomed the “responsible positions”
taken by Asaib Ahl Al-Haq leader Qais Al-Khazali and Kataib Imam Ali
Secretary-General Shibl Al-Zaidi, noting Iraq has entered a new phase marked by
improved security conditions and a shift in priorities toward reconstruction,
development, and strengthening state institutions.

Earlier today, a source told Shafaq News that around
35,000 members of Iraqi armed factions would be integrated into state security
and military institutions in exchange for surrendering their weapons,
describing the plan as a major step with the potential to reshape the country’s
armed landscape.

The initiative builds on earlier integration steps,
including the incorporation of about 15,000 members of Saraya Al-Salam, the
armed wing of Iraq’s Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM-Sadrist), led by Muqtada Al-Sadr,
who previously ordered the dissolution of those forces, leaving roughly 20,000
positions under the current framework.

Meanwhile, Ashab Al-Kahf, one of Iraq’s prominent
clandestine armed groups, rejected political calls for factions to surrender
weapons, dismissing references to the supreme Shia religious authority in
support of disarmament as unfounded. Kataib Hezbollah, for its part, backed
efforts to centralize arms under government oversight while indicating it would
not proceed with disarmament.

Read more: Is Iraq closer to restricting weapons to the state?