...ft and special forces have been conducting operations in recent days to neutralize units of the Shiite militia, the Al-Hashd al-Shaabi. They are quite active here. They are responsible for many strikes on American bases in the north of the country. They even claimed responsibility for the downing of an American KC-135 refueling aircraft the day before. Moreover, despite the relatively weak combat capability of these "units," the Al-Hashd al-Shaabi units are quite numerous (up to 100,000 in...