BAGHDAD, 27 June 2021, (TON):  Thousands of Iraqi paramilitary fighters, including powerful Iran-backed factions, marched at a military base in eastern Iraq on Saturday showcasing tanks and rocket launchers in their biggest formal parade to date.

The event, attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, marked seven years since the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) were formed to fight the ISIS.

“I esteem your sacrifices, and the sacrifices of the Iraqi armed forces” in fighting ISIS, Kadhimi said, warning against any “sedition” within the PMU, but without elaborating.

The PMU’s establishment created a state-sanctioned umbrella organization of mostly Shiite militias backed by Iran.

The Iran-aligned factions, which are the most powerful in the PMU, have since ISIS’s defeat in 2017 expanded their military, political and economic power and attacked bases housing the 2,500 remaining US forces in Iraq.

They have allies in parliament and government and a grip over some state bodies, including security institutions.