Iraq to collect 6 million weapons despite pushback from Iran-backed militias

AI Summary

Iraq has announced a regulatory process to collect an estimated 6 million weapons from armed factions, despite pushback from Iran-backed militias like Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba who refuse to surrender their arms. The deadline for disarmament was originally set as 30 September but has been reframed as a starting point for regulation.

Baghdad recast 30 September — originally a hard deadline for armed factions to surrender an estimated 6 million weapons — as the start of the regulatory process as Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba refuse to hand over what they call "resistance weapons".