Iraq veterans are suing pharma companies for allegedly supporting Shia militias

By: Meghann Myers

Military Times

Almost 200 veterans and families of troops killed in action have signed on to a lawsuit accusing five major pharmaceutical and medical supply companies of doing business with terrorist groups that targeted U.S. service members in the early years of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2017 and due for another look by a judge later this month, alleges that the companies made deals with the Iraqi Health Ministry with full knowledge that it was affiliated with a Shia militia group fronted by notorious extremist leader Muqtada al-Sadr, that attacked Americans, resulting in severe injuries and death.

“Some U.S. government personnel in Iraq called Jaysh al-Mahdi ‘The Pill Army,’ because Sadr and his Jaysh al-Mahdi commanders were notorious for paying their terrorist fighters in diverted pharmaceuticals, rather than cash,” the complaint alleges.

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