As the Islamic State's reign comes to an end in Iraq, the sectarian narrative of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds — and the competition among them — is re-emerging. Political parties are mobilizing the three components to advocate a sectarian identity for each of them in post-IS Iraq.

In a series of posts on his official Facebook page, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned against "attempts by some to market sectarianism" after the liberation of Mosul from IS. "After liberating Mosul, new faces left their hideouts and appeared to speak in the name of the people of Mosul and Anbar," Abadi said in a post.

Abadi's remarks refer to certain demands that have been posed in the name of Sunnis in the liberated territories to divide the country along sectarian lines. The demands include calls for including Sunni territories in Iraqi Kurdistan on the premise that Sunni Arabs and Kurds both share the Sunni doctrine. This could mean dividing Iraq into Shiite and Sunni camps.

Arab villages in the north of Ninevah province witnessed demonstrations demanding the integration of their territories into Iraqi Kurdistan. Hundreds affiliated with Ninevah's Arab tribes from Zummar and Rabiah west of the Tigris River took to the streets July 18 to demand integrating their territories into Iraqi Kurdistan. Zummar and Rabiah, which are among the territories that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) aspires to integrate, are referred to in speeches by the regional government's officials as "Kurdish areas outside the administration of the Kurdistan Region."