The Militia Digest
Muqtada al-Sadr dissolved the Promised Day Brigade on Wednesday, as the final US and British troops left Iraq and the coalition mission against Islamic State ended. He said the Mahdi Army would become the Ansar al-Imam al-Mahdi Foundation. He also called for all weapons to come under state control and for Iraq’s political leaders to step aside. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Iraq would assume full responsibility for its security while keeping security cooperation with coalition partners open. Al-Ittijah TV (KH — official) and FAA (Ansar Allah al-Awfiya — official) used the same expulsion slogan for the departure. KAF Center (KH — official) and Sabereen News (KH — affiliated) posted the same taunt with combat footage not dated to the withdrawal. Sabereen News also advertised a Baghdad gathering for 4 p.m. later today.
Ashab al-Kahf rejected handing over weapons and warned that foreign presence on the ground or in the air would face a military response from the night of 30 September, according to 964media and Shafaq News. It also said it would monitor US aircraft and ground movements in Iraq. Ahmad al-Mousawi (AAH — Sadiqoun deputy bloc head), speaking on Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official), said the US departure would remove the factions’ reason for carrying weapons and urged support for the government as Iraq’s sole decision-maker. Falih al-Khazali (KSS — Muntasirun bloc head) said Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Nujaba and Ansar Allah al-Awfiya would accept state control of weapons if US and Turkish forces, Iranian opposition groups and the PKK left Iraq. He also stipulated dissolving the Peshmerga, arming Iraq’s army and barring US and Israeli aircraft from Iraqi airspace. Those are al-Khazali’s reported terms for the four factions, not declarations issued by them. KSS secretary-general Abu Alaa al-Walai had previously made the departure of all foreign forces a prerequisite for weapons regulation; al-Khazali now lists further conditions.
Al-Janoub TV (Harakat al-Jihad wal-Bina — official) said resistance pressure and protests had secured a conditional licence for Najaf International Airport. The licence report does not establish a return by Iranian airlines: the government had said Iraqi Airways resumed Najaf–Iran flights while Iranian carriers remained unable to operate at Iraqi airports. It follows a Nujaba sit-in suspended after its organizer said the airport would reopen. Kataib Hezbollah security official Abu Mujahid al-Asaf had threatened Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government if restrictions on Iranian flights continued after 1 October. Rafiq al-Salhi (AAH — Sadiqoun MP) said a parliamentary committee would hold transport and ground-service companies accountable for complying with US Treasury instructions without consulting the Transport Ministry. MP Abu Turab al-Tamimi said the Civil Aviation Authority controlled flight bans and urged legal action against ground-service contractors. Shabab al-Islam (Ashab al-Kahf — owned) relayed Hamid al-Musawi’s (Badr — MP) allegation that Najaf Governor Yusuf Kannaawi directed the landing ban. Al-Ghadeer TV (Badr Organization — official) reported a protest outside Najaf airport.
AAH praised Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s cabinet for approving the PMF bill and sending it to parliament. The prime minister’s office announced the cabinet’s referral for a parliamentary vote. Sadiqoun spokesman Muhammad al-Baldaawi (AAH — Sadiqoun bloc) credited the bloc’s persistence and AAH secretary-general Qais al-Khazali’s direction for the referral. Bloc head Uday Awwad (AAH — Sadiqoun bloc) said Sadiqoun would pursue the legislative steps for passage. KH’s Hoquq bloc said it would continue its effort to pass the bill, while Ansar Allah al-Awfiya secretary-general Haidar al-Gharawi urged parliament to act promptly. Sadiqoun MP Salim al-Abbasawi (AAH — Sadiqoun bloc) predicted a swift vote and said his bloc had submitted a separate air-defence bill. The cabinet has taken the bill to parliament; parliament has not voted on it.