The secret lobbying that led to the return of the NPU force
The Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) have been officially reinstated after years of forced merger with the Iran-aligned Babylon Brigades. The Post can now reveal how the decision was reached.
The Post can today reveal new details about the recent decision to reinstate the Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) and shed light on the chain of events that led to a move now igniting new hope for the future of the Nineveh Plain Region.
The NPU, a force established in the wake of the 2014 ISIS invasion and composed exclusively of local Assyrians, had in recent years been gradually and forcibly merged with the militia led by Rayan al-Kildani – the Babylon Brigades. The Babylon Brigades (also known as Brigade 50), a faction within the Iran-aligned Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF/Hashd al-Shaabi), is nominally a “Christian” force but in reality made up mostly of Shiite Muslim Arabs.
The Assyria Post
Local sources have told The Post that the Church played a prominent and decisive role in the return of the NPU and the removal of the Babylon Brigades from the Nineveh Plain. According to these sources, the Assyrian bishop Mar Benedict Younan Hanno, Archbishop of Mosul and its environs for the Syriac Catholic Church, was the driving force behind this development.
A post shared on NPU social media channels on October 28 confirms indirectly the role of the bishop. It shows Archbishop Hanno together with the reinstated NPU commander, Colonel Jawad Habib, on a joint tour through central Baghdede (Qaraqosh), the main city of the region. The post stated the visit aimed to “foster trust and reassurance among the people and support stability in the region.”
A Change of Stance
While church leaders have long been hesitant – and in some cases openly opposed – to Assyrians taking up arms to defend their own areas, circumstances appear to have prompted a reevaluation among leading religious figures.
The Baghdede wedding fire in September 2023, in which more than 100 Assyrians lost their lives in what many believe was a deliberate act of terrorism, is said to have been the turning point. That tragedy reportedly compelled church leaders to reconsider their previous reluctance toward supporting a local security force, sparking a lobbying effort that ultimately led to the decision to reinstate the NPU.
Archbishop Hanno is said to have met with the leadership of the PMF shortly after the wedding fire, demanding the removal of the Babylon Brigades from the region. He reportedly repeated these demands to several power brokers who made promises but took no action. A recent meeting between the Archbishop and Falih al-Fayyadh, head of the PMF, is said to have been decisive, as the PMF leadership finally agreed to heed the demands of the local population.
While the wedding fire was the catalyst, it was not the only reason for the Church’s change of heart. Continuous harassment, intimidation, and extortion of local businesses by members of the Babylon Brigades had made life increasingly untenable for Assyrians in the region, the sources added.
The Enabling Factor - NPU Remained Intact
What made the return of the NPU possible is the fact that the force had remained largely intact despite being absorbed into Brigade 50. Rather than dissolving the NPU completely, the Babylon Brigades dismissed only its top four leaders while keeping most of its fighters as a sub-unit – a decision that has now proved costly for the Shiite militia.
Many NPU members, finding themselves under new command, initially joined locals in protesting the merger. However, most ultimately stayed, as their families depended on their salaries. The reinstatement reportedly restores the NPU’s original leadership, those who served before the Babylon Brigades takeover.
To enforce the decision, PMF leadership and the Iraqi Army are said to have dispatched special forces to the Nineveh Plain, effectively forcing the Babylon Brigades out of the area through a show of strength but without armed confrontation.
A Blessing of Brothers in Arms
In recent years, Assyrians in the Nineveh Plain, including the clergy, have witnessed the contrast between the security and order provided by the NPU and the intimidation and chaos brought by the Babylon Brigades – a group that masqueraded as a “Christian” force.
This stark difference appears to have led church leaders, who wield significant influence, to conclude that a local Assyrian force composed of residents is not such a bad idea after all.
The NPU already enjoyed strong support from the local population, from Assyrians in neighboring regions, and from the diaspora. With renewed backing from church leadership, the force is now poised to reemerge stronger than ever – supported by a population that, having endured life under foreign militias, now understands the importance of having its own defenders.
More importantly, the development marks a major shift in local and ecclesiastical policy toward self-defense. It signals renewed hope for stability and autonomy in the Assyrian heartland of northern Iraq.
Born Out of Necessity
The NPU was formed in secret in the days following the ISIS invasion of Mosul in June 2014. It was established by local Assyrians with support and funding from members of the Assyrian diaspora in Sweden. The force was later formally incorporated into the PMF through the support of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), gaining official recognition, salaries, and training from U.S. military instructors.
The NPU participated in the liberation of the Nineveh Plain from ISIS and subsequently served as the de facto local security force in the southern parts of the region, while Kurdish forces continued to occupy the north. In recent years, however, the NPU was overrun by Brigade 50, which imposed its control over the area – until now.
