WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Coalition forces assisting the effort to retake Daesh-held city of Mosul provide only combat-related support to fighters under direct control of the Iraqi Security Forces, Volesky said.
“A challenge with the Shia PMF is that people treat it like it is a homogeneous group and it is not," Volesky explained at a Pentagon briefing. "It is made up of multiple groups, some of which are recognized terrorist groups."
The Iraqi troops, aided by the US-led coalition, on Monday began their campaign to retake Mosul from Daesh, which seized the city in June 2014.
Some US government officials and human-rights groups have urged Iraq’s government to limit the role of the Shia Popular Mobilization Forces, which has ties to Iran, in the battle over Mosul.