In June 2014, Mosul, Iraqs second largest city fell in the hands of the so called Islamic State. From Mosul, its leader declared himself caliph for Iraq and the Levant. The highest ranking Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sayyid Sistani, responded with a call to arms to protect the homeland and the holy shrines of Shia in Iraq. At this moment the idea of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, the Shia dominated Popular Mobilization Front (PMF) was born. Since then the PMF has expanded and diversified. It substantially helped reconquering Mosul in 2017. This paper analyzes PMF in three steps: (1) the prevailing status and management of the various PMF forces; (2) the relevance of local and regional politics to the security dynamics of Iraq and (3) some policy recommendations for the Iraqi government as regards the future of PMF and how to secure Iraq better.