In the context of the conflict against IS, the predominantly Shi’a paramilitary militias operating under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) continue to use a wide range of arms and ammunition to commit or facilitate serious human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes, with impunity.

This report is based on field research carried out by Amnesty International in northern and central Iraq from June 2014 to November 2016. The research included interviews with dozens of former detainees, witnesses, survivors, and relatives of those killed, detained or missing. To document PMU militia arsenals, Amnesty International commissioned expert analysis of verified photographs and videos featuring PMU militias deploying weapons, drawn from both open and closed sources.

Since June 2014, PMU militias have extrajudicially executed or otherwise unlawfully killed, tortured and abducted thousands of men and boys. Victims were picked up from their homes, workplaces, camps for internally displaced persons, checkpoints or other public places. Some were later found shot dead.

Thousands more are still missing, weeks, months and years after they were abducted. Amnesty International has documented such violations by PMU militias in and around Baghdad, and in the Anbar, Salah al-Din, Diyala and Kirkuk governorates.