Given the current momentum, Mosul and Tal Afar might be retaken relatively soon. And then, presumably and in line with various statements made, the PMU might focus on Syria. Some have been operating alongside Syrian regime troops against opposition fighters for years.
Following a question by a journalist Oct. 31 in Zargah of whether the PMU would cross into Syria to fight IS, Amiri laughed and offered to take her there. He said, "Our mission is to liberate our country, but we will go to Syria if we have to because we believe that Iraq will be threatened by IS as long as it is still present in Syria."
Meanwhile, a controversial law that passed Nov. 26 has officially legalized the PMU as a government entity, providing salaries and pensions to the fighters.
On Nov. 24, a statement was issued accusing US planes of bombing Tal Afar airport shortly after Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi left it following a meeting with PMU leaders. Col. John Dorrian, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the US-led coalition, said that the incident had been investigated and any coalition involvement had been ruled out.
Any reason for disagreement, however, may spark tensions that were never entirely suppressed.
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