The humvees driven by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) through the town of Taza Khormato carried posters of slain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Qasem Soleimani and PMF commander Abu Mahdi Muhandes who were killed by an American drone in early January at Baghdad airport. Similar scenes were observed across the province, including in the nearby town of Daquq.
The PMF’s 16th Brigade, whose deputy set the flags on fire according to the videos posted by the group on social media, is in control of the Taza Khormato area.
Photographs and videos of the parade in several towns in Kirkuk province posted on Facebook by the PMF units show what appears to be children carrying AK-47 assault rifles and members of the Iraqi armed forces participating in the parade.
In Iran, the parade was officially cancelled as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage across the country. However rallies were held burning American and Israeli flags with hundreds of people attending an event on the grave of Soleimani in the central city of Kerman.
Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, delivered his annual speech on state television, railing against Israel as the “cancerous tumor” in the region that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed.”
Khamenei has faced backlash in recent days from several European countries and the United States after a poster on his website used the phrase “final solution,” evoking Nazi slogans used against Jews during the Holocaust.
Iran-backed groups such as Badr Organisation and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, active in Kirkuk province and other northern provinces, have taken a cue from Tehran and organised Quds day parades, where supporters call for the destruction of the state of Israel and chant “death to America”.
Al-Quds (the Arabic name for Jerusalem) day was originally introduced by the leader of the Iranian revolution Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 urging Muslims across the world to show their solidarity with the Palestinian claim to Jerusalem on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.
The associated rallies and parades have, however, remained largely tied to the Islamic Republic and its allies in the region, rarely being observed outside of these circles.
This year’s PMF celebration appear to be more muted than those in previous years, which generally see hundreds of supporters and militiamen take to the streets of various Iraqi cities.
