Iraq President Barham Salih, left, with Prime Minister-designate Adnan Al Zurufi at the commissioning ceremony on March 17, 2020.

New Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Adnan al-Zurufi said on Thursday that Al-Hashd al-Shaabi is an official military organization and the body performs its duty based on the law which has been approved in parliament.

Iran PressMiddle East: Al-Zurufi tweeted that Al-Hashd al-Shaabi is a military entity created by parliament law and popular demand to combat terrorism to save Iraqi territory.

Al-Hashd al-Sha'abi also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), is an Iraqi state-sponsored umbrella organization composed of Shia groups, Sunni Muslims, Christian, and Yazidi groups.

The group was formed in 2014 and have fought in nearly every major battle against ISIS.

The United States is against the group demanding its dismantle.

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"Al-Hashd al-Sha'abi remains a strong military organization and its loyalty and sacrifice will remain in Iraq and Iraqis' mind," Al- Zurufi added.

Al-Zurufi wrote in a tweet that if he succeeds in forming a government, he will adopt an approach that will not turn Iraq into the ground to solve the foreign countries' disagreements.

"We will first adopt a foreign policy based on the Iraqi principle and avoid regional and international conflicts that make the country a court for solving disagreements," he wrote on his social network page.

Al-Zurufi also met with ambassadors of permanent members of the Security Council in Baghdad on Wednesday and discussed with them the formation of the new Iraqi government and developments in the region and the world.

He was commissioned to form a transitional government last Tuesday by Iraqi President Barham Saleh. 104/207

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