The militias defending Iraq from Islamic State

During the reign of Saddam Hussein, Shias suffered terribly in Iraq. After the US invasion they were in command. And now they are fighting to hold off the threat of Isis. writes Janine Di Giovanni

DOWN a dusty backstreet in the Baghdad neighbourhood of Karada this month, I met Sheikh Raad Al Kafaji, a former Iraqi army officer specialising in artillery, and a veteran fighter from the days of the Iran-Iraq war.

He is head of the al Kafaji tribe and a commander in the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, one of the Shia militias at the forefront of the fight against Isis in Iraq.