Amiri told Al-Monitor that he spoke "in the name of Hashid Shaabi," the Arabic name for the PMU, and not as the leader of his group within it. In response to the question whether they would remain in the area after the military operation ended, he said that the PMU "had not stayed in any area that they had taken."
The PMU continue to maintain a presence in Salahuddin and other areas, but official control of those areas has been handed over to the local authorities.
Amiri added that no Iranian advisers were involved in the operations in the area, despite reports to the contrary, but that he "would not be afraid to say if they were. There are 5,000 Americans here [in Iraq]. We have the right to bring Qasem Soleimani here if we want."
When asked why the word "Badr" had been graffitied on several buildings along the main road running through several of the villages that Al-Monitor passed on the way, he said that he had not seen it but that "they’re young men — it’s normal." He stressed, however, that the Badr Organization had always "tried to discourage them from doing so."
Amiri showed a map with colored lines indicating the various areas the PMU were tasked with in the axis toward Tal Afar, but noted that all of the Shiite paramilitary groups — such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba — were involved.
He stressed that the peshmerga forces had nothing to do with the operations in "these Arab areas" south of Mosul and Tal Afar, but he said, "We have worked with them before — in Saadiya, Suleiman Beg, Amerli and Tuz Khormato."
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