Iraq's competing Shi'ite armed factions and parties
Iran's elite Quds Force to Baghdad has led to a pause in attacks on U.S. troops by Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, multiple Iranian and Iraqi sources told Reuters.
Here's a look at Iraq's most influential Shi'ite parties and armed groups, who remain divided over how to address the presence of U.S. forces in the country:
THE COORDINATION FRAMEWORK
The ruling Shi'ite coalition of Iraqi parties and armed groups and main backer of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who came to power in October 2022.
The members of this coalition compete for power and resources and often do not see eye-to-eye. They are united in opposition to powerful rival Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The coalition has opposed attacks on U.S. forces since the outbreak of the Gaza war, instead calling for their negotiated exit. Leaders include:
— Nouri Al-Maliki A former two-term prime minister and leader of the Dawa party which dominated successive Iraqi governments after 2003. Maliki has close ties with Iran, which supported Dawa's opposition to Saddam during the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
He has links with armed groups, deep state power and is Sadr's fiercest opponent. — Hadi Al-Amiri Leader of the Badr Organisation, which started as a Shi'ite paramilitary group supported by Iran in the 1980s.
Badr makes up a big part of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), the heavily armed Iraqi state security agency that contains many Iran-backed factions who often operate outside the chain of command. — Qais Al-Khazali
The former insurgent fought as
