Direct proof of use
The Dehlaviyeh is documented in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State through Amnesty International's January 2017 report on Popular Mobilization Unit arms. The report states that Amnesty commissioned Armament Research Services to analyze verified photographs and videos of PMU militias deploying weapons from March 2015 to June 2016, and its annex lists Dehlavieh 9M133-type weapons among anti-tank guided weapons positively identified in service with PMU militia armed groups during the conflict in Iraq and Syria.
The record supports PMU possession and deployment of Dehlavieh-family anti-tank guided weapons in the counter-ISIS war. It does not identify a named Dehlaviyeh firing incident, target, or battlefield effect.
Sources: Iraq: Turning a Blind Eye
Timeline
The open-source timeline begins with the PMU's formation in June 2014 after Islamic State captured Mosul and Iraqi religious and political leaders called for volunteers to fight alongside state forces. Amnesty's evidence window for PMU weapons deployment runs from March 2015 to June 2016, when ARES reviewed verified imagery used to identify PMU weapons.
In February 2016, Iraq's prime minister ordered the PMU designated as part of the Iraqi armed forces, and parliament later incorporated that order into law in November 2016. Amnesty's January 2017 report then published the Dehlavieh identification as part of its broader PMU arms inventory.
Sources: Iraq: Turning a Blind Eye
Operational role
Within this conflict record, the Dehlaviyeh is treated as a PMU anti-armor guided weapon. Amnesty's annex groups Dehlavieh 9M133-type weapons with other anti-tank guided weapons, alongside Kornet, Toophan, and Saeqeh systems, and describes the annex as a baseline assessment of conventional arms positively identified in PMU service during the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Syria.
The identified side is anti-ISIS coalition and partner forces because the PMU fought Islamic State in Iraq as part of the Iraqi state's broader counter-ISIS campaign, while often retaining militia structures and external support relationships. The source record is therefore stronger for fielding and deployment than for tactical employment details.
Sources: Iraq: Turning a Blind Eye
