The Militia Digest

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq denied responsibility for Friday night’s drone attack on Saudi East–West Pipeline facilities in the Riyadh and Medina regions. It called such an action an honor it did not claim, while Riyadh attributed the attack to Iraqi factions and Baghdad said it originated in Iraq. The Badr parliamentary bloc praised the denial and accused the government of accepting Riyadh’s account too quickly. Baghdad closed three Iran crossings, dismissed the Maysan Operations Commander and accepted Iran’s request for a joint investigation. Security Media Cell chief Lt. Gen. Saad Maan said a task force had seized a drone-launch platform inside Iraq, with forensic and technical work continuing. Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official), Al-Kornet al-Kata'ibi (KSS — affiliated), Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) and Watan TV (Badr Organization — affiliated) described the joint probe as covering border launch platforms, while Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) described it as covering the Saudi attack. Separately, the Interior Ministry announced that police found 47 drones and 46 projectiles at an abandoned western Anbar site; security sources believed the cache belonged to an armed faction, while investigators were working to establish its origin and connections.

Baghdad began a phased reopening of the three Iran crossings on Sunday, one day after closing them during the investigation. Passenger entry resumed at al-Shib and Shalamcheh at 6 a.m. Sunday. Commercial traffic is scheduled to restart at Shalamcheh on Monday, Mandali on Tuesday and al-Shib on Thursday. During the closures, Sabereen reported Shalamcheh completely shut. Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) said Iraqi families, mostly patients and children, were stranded inside Iran at al-Shib, while Al-Ahad reported commercial traffic moving smoothly through Mundhariya.

Hakim Atiya al-Muhammadawi (AAH — Sadiqoun general-body member) held PMF chairman Faleh al-Fayyad responsible for delayed personnel entitlements and accused the PMF leadership of failing to warn headquarters before attacks. Ahmed Adnan (AAH — Sadiqoun member) alleged that the government withdrew the PMF law because its age provisions applied to Fayyad and that Fayyad twice declined parliament’s invitation. Adnan also said Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi had adopted the law before the State Administration Coalition and that political forces largely supported finalising it. Israa al-Hajjimi (AAH — Sadiqoun general-body member) alleged that political interference obstructed the warning investigation and demanded that Fayyad be held accountable. Political researcher Ahmad al-Miyahi then called to change the PMF’s senior leadership, while Iraqi Center for Media Development head Adnan al-Sarraj urged structural reorganisation and new personnel. Those proposals were the guests’ positions, not an AAH leadership statement. The pressure has moved beyond earlier demands that Fayyad appear before parliament to allegations of a blocked investigation and calls for leadership change. Fayyad has not answered these accusations.

An Iraqi army position in Hawija, Kirkuk, was reported attacked on 12 September. Sabereen invoked the Saudi pipeline as it told readers to wait a quarter of an hour to learn who attacked the army. Unit 10,000 and Al-Ahad also reported the attack, while Al-Ghadeer attributed it to ISIS and said security forces repelled it. In Diyala, Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official), Al-Ghadeer and Unit 10,000 reported a joint PMF–army operation from the Wand River outlet to Hamrin Lake to pursue terrorist cells. Shabab al-Islam (Ashab al-Kahf — owned/non-official) and Al-Kornet al-Kata'ibi (KSS — affiliated) reported a heavy PMF deployment through western Anbar toward the Syrian border. Iraqi security authorities have not confirmed that deployment. FAA (Ansar Allah al-Awfiya — official) separately said its PMF 19th Brigade was conducting explosives-handling and controlled-detonation training along the Iraqi-Syrian border.