Iraqi authorities have begun developing mechanisms to integrate members of armed factions that have agreed to surrender their weapons and join state institutions, according to information obtained by Alhurra from security sources involved in the process.
The measures follow announcements by Saraya al-Salam, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali that they would proceed with disarmament and integration efforts, a development that places Iraq’s new government before one of the country’s most complex challenges: dismantling the military power of armed factions without transferring their organizational influence into state institutions.
According to a senior Iraqi army officer who spoke to Alhurra, the integration process will involve distributing members of those factions across various branches of the security services “as individuals, not as groups,” in an effort to prevent the formation of organized blocs within the military or security apparatus and to ensure their direct subordination to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
“The objective is to ensure they do not maintain any discernible weight inside the security institutions,” the officer said. “They will be treated like any other members of the security establishment, and the orders they receive will come solely from the commander-in-chief.”
Regarding the weapons held by the three factions, the source said committees formed over the past two days—including representatives from the Ministries of Defense and Interior, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and the factions themselves—have already begun inventorying light, medium and heavy weapons in preparation for their transfer to state authorities.
Since Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi took office last month, integrating paramilitary formations and disarming armed groups have topped the government’s agenda. But a recent initiative by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to dissolve his movement’s armed wing, Saraya al-Salam, and fully integrate it into state institutions has significantly altered Iraq’s political and security landscape.
Following Sadr’s announcement, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Imam Ali declared that they had begun procedures to sever the military units affiliated with them from the PMF and prepare their arsenals for transfer to the authority of the commander-in-chief.
Drawing on open-source information and sources familiar with the matter, this report examines the planned integration process, the organizational structures of the factions involved, their manpower, military capabilities and areas of deployment.
Asaib Ahl al-Haq
Asaib Ahl al-Haq was established after its leader, Qais al-Khazali, split from Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army between 2005 and 2006. With support, funding and training from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, the group evolved from an insurgent organization fighting coalition forces into one of Iraq’s largest and most organized paramilitary factions.
In 2018, its armed formations were formally incorporated into the Popular Mobilization Forces, allowing members to receive salaries and logistical support from the Iraqi state budget.
The movement operates three principal brigades within the PMF: Brigades 41, 42 and 43. Although the PMF is legally subordinate to the Iraqi prime minister’s office, security sources say those brigades have remained closely aligned in practice with the movement’s political and security leadership.
The group’s forces are primarily deployed in the Baghdad belt and Salahuddin province, particularly around Balad and Dujail, as well as parts of Diyala and Babil provinces. It also maintains a strong presence in eastern and southern Baghdad, using Sadr City as a key center for organization and mobilization.
The group also maintains extensive influence in Basra, Maysan and Dhi Qar provinces, areas that witnessed violent confrontations between its fighters and local protesters during the 2019 demonstrations.
Outside Iraq, Asaib fighters participated from 2012 onward in military operations supporting the Syrian government before its fall in 2024, particularly around Shiite religious shrines in Damascus and in Syria’s desert regions.
The movement is led by Qais al-Khazali and his brother Laith al-Khazali, both of whom were designated global terrorists by the U.S. State Department in 2020. Other prominent figures include Jawad al-Talibawi, the group’s security chief and a key architect of its military responses.
Security estimates place the group’s manpower at roughly 10,000 fighters, many of whom gained combat experience in battles against ISIS after 2014 and in urban warfare in Syria.
Its arsenal is believed to include Iranian-made reconnaissance and attack drones that have been used in strikes against military facilities and bases hosting the international coalition in Iraq, in addition to rocket systems and short- and medium-range launchers.
Kataib Imam Ali
Kataib Imam Ali was established in June 2014 after ISIS seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria. From its inception, the group maintained particularly close ties with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Over time, however, the militia followed a somewhat different path from other ideologically driven factions. Its secretary-general, Shibl al-Zaidi, focused heavily on building an extensive business network with interests in real estate, construction, agriculture and telecommunications.
Al-Zaidi, a former member of the Mahdi Army, has been under U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2020 for acting as a financial and intelligence coordinator for the Quds Force and facilitating Iraqi investments and oil smuggling activities benefiting Iran.
Kataib Imam Ali operates within the PMF through Brigade 40, along with subsidiary formations, including the “Ruh Allah Issa bin Maryam” unit, composed of Christian volunteers and primarily deployed in the Nineveh Plains. Estimates suggest the group has approximately 8,000 members organized into around 40 combat units.
The militia exercises full control over the strategic Camp Speicher west of Tikrit in Salahuddin province and maintains a major military facility in Suwayrah district in Wasit province.
Brigade 40 formations are also deployed in Baghdad, Nineveh and eastern Anbar, while sharing positions with other factions in Kirkuk, Tuz Khurmatu, Tal Afar, Sinjar and Diyala. The group also operates offices in Baghdad’s Karrada and Jadriya districts.
During the Syrian civil war, Kataib Imam Ali was active from 2015 onward in rural Damascus, particularly around the Sayyida Zainab shrine, as well as in Palmyra, Aleppo, border desert regions and the strategic Syrian town of Al-Bukamal.
Its arsenal includes medium-range rocket systems, medium weapons, mortars, heavy machine guns and armed four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Saraya al-Salam
Saraya al-Salam was established in June 2014 by Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr as a reorganization of the Mahdi Army, the former armed wing of the Sadrist movement whose activities were suspended between 2007 and 2008.
Unlike Iraqi factions closely aligned with Iran, Saraya al-Salam presents itself as a force rooted in Iraqi Sadrist ideology and opposed to both the U.S. military presence and Iranian interference.
The group operates within the legal framework of the PMF through Brigades 313, 314 and 315. Brigade 313 is considered the most significant, responsible for field security in Samarra and surrounding areas, while the other two brigades serve as support and security forces in Salahuddin province and the Samarra Island area.
Muqtada al-Sadr remains the movement’s highest political and ideological authority and the ultimate decision-maker on major strategic issues. Day-to-day military leadership is entrusted to Tahseen al-Hamidawi, known within the Sadrist movement as the “Jihadi Deputy,” who has led the force since January 2022.
The group is responsible for protecting the Al-Askari Shrine in Samarra and its surrounding security zone. It is also deployed in Samarra Island, Amerli, Ishaqi, Balad and Dujail in coordination with the Iraqi Army’s Samarra Operations Command.
In Baghdad, Saraya al-Salam maintains a significant presence in eastern districts, particularly Sadr City and nearby neighborhoods, while also operating in southern cities including Najaf and Karbala.
Estimates place the number of Saraya al-Salam members formally incorporated into the PMF at approximately 13,000. However, its actual influence extends beyond that figure due to Sadr’s ability to rapidly mobilize supporters during emergencies, potentially raising the number of available fighters to between 50,000 and 70,000.
The group’s arsenal is generally considered less sophisticated than those of Iraqi factions closely linked to Tehran. It relies primarily on light and medium weapons, including assault rifles, medium and heavy machine guns and anti-armor launchers.
It also possesses 120-mm mortars, short-range unguided Katyusha rockets and armed four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Military assessments indicate that, unlike some Iran-aligned Iraqi factions, Saraya al-Salam does not possess drones or medium- and long-range ballistic missiles.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
Ghassan Taqi
A journalist specializing in Iraqi affairs, he has worked with the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) since 2015. He previously spent several years with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as various Iraqi and Arab media outlets.
