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Shiite Militias Win Bloody Battles in Iraq, Show No Mercy
(Wall Street Journal) Matt Bradley and Ghassan Adnan - A militia of more than 650 Shiite fighters, known as the Al Qara'a Regiment, drove Islamic State out of Jurf al-Sakher, Iraq, in late October. After briefly interrogating the enemy soldiers, commander Ahmed al-Zamili ordered their executions. "We see them, we attack them, we get the weapons from them, we talk to them, we get their confessions, and then we kill them," says Zamili, 35, who formed Al Qara'a in June. "Of course, this is much better than the army strategy." Shiite militias like Al Qara'a have emerged as the most effective fighting force against Islamic State in Iraq. Iraq's new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, estimates that more than a million Shiite fighters are trying to fill the void left by failures of the U.S.-trained Iraqi military. Shiite militia leaders say their recent successes reflect their holy warrior zeal, superior training compared with Iraqi government troops, less corruption in the ranks, and freedom from the legal, bureaucratic and human-rights restrictions on regular Iraqi forces.