A coalition of Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias from Iraq announced plans to cross the border into Syria to fight alongside President Bashar Assad, after the Islamic State is eradicated from Iraq. Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen are already fighting on Assad’s side in the country’s civil war, and the coalition is currently participating in an Iraqi government offensive to recapture the northern city of Mosul from the Islamic State. The announcement by the coalition, known as Hashid Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization, would formalize its involvement in Syria.
“We in Iraq, after clearing all our land from these terrorist gangs, we are fully ready to go to any place that contains a threat to Iraqi national security. Syria is definitely where terrorist groups exist, that pose the largest threat to Iraq, and we will do this through coordination between the Iraqi and the Syrian governments,” said Ahmed Al-Asadi, Iraqi Shi’ite coalition spokesman.
The battle for Mosul is expected to be the biggest in the 13 years of turmoil unleashed in Iraq by the 2003 US-led invasion which toppled former president Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim, and brought Iraq’s majority Shi’ite Muslims to power. The Shi’ite militias aim to capture villages west of Mosul and reach the town of Tal Afar, about 55 km, which is equal to some 35 miles, from the city. Their goal is to cut off any option of retreat for Islamic State insurgents into neighboring Syria, or any reinforcement for the Islamic State’s defense of Mosul.