The Militia Digest

Militia channels carried press reports placing Kataib Hezbollah, Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Ansar Allah al-Awfiya and al-Badala together in rejecting the surrender of drones and long-range missiles, although the reports did not quote the factions directly. The central dispute is 30 September: Al-Araby al-Jadeed described it as Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s deadline for surrendering weapons, while Alhurra described it as the start of regulation. A third account said the government would announce the plan’s principles in early October and implement them gradually. RojNews reported that stalled talks could lead al-Zaidi to close faction headquarters after the deadline. The five-faction alignment remains a press account, while Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada’s categorical denial of an inventory or transfer is direct. Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) captions described state control of weapons as consolidating centralization and 30 September as a sovereignty milestone. Legal expert Abbas al-Aqabi told the channel that the government would legally treat the weapons as illegitimate after that date and that regulation required legislation beforehand. Ufuq Center head Jumaa al-Atwani had told the same channel that linking withdrawal to weapons regulation was wrong and that the Coordination Framework lacked consensus, leaving the competing positions as guest arguments rather than an AAH declaration.

Late on 17 September, Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) reported an explosion in Sulaymaniyah and six minutes later said drones were heading toward targets in Sulaymaniyah. Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official), Shabab al-Islam (Ashab al-Kahf — affiliated), Unit 10,000 (KH — affiliated) and Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) also reported explosions there in the same hour. Earlier, Sabereen reported American warplanes over Erbil and an explosion in the Masif area, while Shabab al-Islam reported an explosion on Erbil’s outskirts. The overnight accounts follow five reported impacts around Sulaymaniyah reported in the desk's 14 September edition.