Click to see full-size image. (Iraqi military\Telegram)
Iraq’s Interior Minister Abdul Amir Al-Shammari vowed on January 19 that his country’s forces will open fire at any member of ISIS in Syria who approaches the border.
The warning came amid an attack by the forces of the Islamist-led Syrian transitional government on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with reports indicating that many members of the terrorist group who were locked up in the northeast of the country have escaped as a result of the fighting.
In remarks carried by the state-run Iraqi News Agency, Al-Shammari said that Iraq is closely monitoring the situation in Syria and had anticipated these events three years ago.
“We have reinforced our international borders, particularly with Syria, and have also dug a 620-kilometer-long trench along the border,” he said.
The minister further noted that Iraq has thermal cameras operating day and night at border crossings, emphasizing that the military units deployed along the border are sufficiently equipped and staffed.
He also affirmed that all security efforts along the Iraqi border are supported by the military’s aviation and the air force, and that the border is fully secured.
The Iraqi military, security forces, and the Popular Mobilization Forces, in addition to the forces of the autonomous region of Kurdistan, deployed massive reinforcements along the border with Syria as the attack on the SDF there began to gain momentum in the last few days.
Syrian government forces freed more than a hundred detainees, including members of ISIS, from al-Shaddadi Prison, on January 19, and the next day took over the al-Hawl refugee camp, which hosts more than 25,000 people related to members of the terrorist groups. More than a thousand have already fled. Both the prison and the camp are located in the governorate of al-Hasakah, which borders Iraq.
The forces are also working to capture al-Aqttan Prison in Raqqa, and could soon reach larger detention facilities in al-Haskaah.
The Syrian government promised to secure these facilities, and said that it was cooperating with the United States on the matter. However, footage that surfaced online shows that its forces lack discipline and at the same time incapable of protecting these facilities.
Addressing the situation in Syria, Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Sudani said that the rising presence of ISIS there threatens regional security and requires urgent international attention.
Speaking during a meeting with ambassadors of European Union countries accredited to Iraq, Al-Sudani said that his country supports a “transparent and inclusive” political process in Syria, urging concrete steps to reject terrorism, combat extremism, and respect human rights to reassure all Syrian communities.
He also stressed that Iraq considers Syria’s stability a national and regional priority, noting that a stable and unified Syria, where all components coexist peacefully, constitutes a fundamental guarantee for regional security.
Iraq was among the first countries to engage with the new government in Syria. Nevertheless, it remains very cautious about the situation there.
And while Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa himself is not likely interested in any conflict with Iraq, many of those under his command, including former members of ISIS, may be. With the northeastern region returning under government control and the influence of the terrorist group being revived, friction with the Iraqi side seems inevitable.
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syria chose the worst allies on earth—iran and russia.
now assad’s wife is cleaning toilets in moscow, heheheh!
anglo american empire declining and fast.