Iraq's Army And Iraqi Shiite Militias In Open Dispute On Fallujah Military Operations

Head of the Badr Organisation Hadi al-Amiri (2nd R) stands with Shi'ite fighters during a military operation in the west of Samarra, in the desert of Anbar, March 7, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Reuters: Iraqi army, Shi'ite coalition bicker on Falluja war operations

An Iraqi Shi'ite militia leader accused government forces of "betrayal" as a split emerged between the Iranian-backed paramilitaries and the army over tactics for fighting Islamic State.

The head of the largest militia, Hadi al-Amiri, criticized the army for moving an armored brigade to the Makhmour area near Mosul - Islamic State's capital in northern Iraq - while the battle to dislodge the militants from Falluja, their stronghold near Baghdad, is still underway.

"Unfortunately there is an absence of precise planning for the military operations," said Amiri, who leads the Badr Organisation. "I believe that sending a large number of armored vehicles and assets to Makhmour, under the pretext of the Mosul battle, is a betrayal of the battle for Falluja," he told Al-Sumaria TV on Sunday.

Badr Organisation is the largest component of the Popular Mobilisation, a militia grouping which has been fighting alongside the Iraqi army at Falluja, with government units also receiving air support from the U.S.-led coalition.

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WNU Editor: This growing split between Iranian backed Shiite militias and the Iraqi Army is only the tip of the iceberg .... Fallujah and the Failed Iraqi State (Michael Weiss, Daily Beast).