Al-Hashd Al-Sha’abi translates to “Popular Mobilization Forces” and is an Iraqi Government sponsored umbrella group composed of people’s militia, to augment Iraqi Military forces in the fight against the so called Islamic State. Photographs of the remote firing device first came out in September of this year, and were spread on a number of Iranian and French news sources. The Iranian connection to many of the Shi’a militias in Al-Hashd Al-Sha’abi is very strong, and is possibly why the photographs are showing up overwhelmingly in Iranian sources.

Unlike many remote sighting and firing devices seen in use by belligerents in Syria and Iraq, this contraption looks much more practical and of lighter weight compared to many of the other devices. But judging from the groups current operational tempo, this mount is most likely being used in a defensive situation, as opposed to pushing through a city offensively, such as Mosul right now.

The contraption is utilizing a sort of adjustable clamp attached to a cradle that locks the PKM medium machine gun (it appears to be a Bulgarian 7.62x54RMG1M) in place. A camera is placed underneath the barrel, that is then wired to a video screen attached to a handle. It appears that the handle controls a mechanical trigger bar, while the camera is operated via a battery pack that is attached to the wall clamp. Loading and manipulating the machine gun would still have to be done by hand, but this would require minimal exposure.