Commander: US Spying for ISIL on Hashd Al-Sha’abi Along Iraq-Syria Borders

“The US Army has been trying to obtain intelligence from Hashd al-Sha’abi along Iraq-Syria borders to inform the ISIL terrorists stationed in Hajin and Souseh in Syria about the Iraqi popular forces’ movements,” the Arabic-language Al-Maloumeh news website quoted Qassim Muslih, the commander of Hashd al-Shaabi forces in al-Anbar province, as saying on Wednesday.

The Iraqi popular forces commander reiterated that after the US Army’s attempt, Hashd al-Sha’abi has reinforced its positions along borders with Syria in a move to confront any unprecedented incident.

Elsewhere, Muslih rejected the US troops’ pullout from Syria, and said that the US Army has recently dispatched massive military equipment and troops from Iraq to Syria.

He also pointed to the coordination between Iraqi and Syrian sides in combating terrorists in the region, and said, “We are waiting for the order of the Iraqi Command to cross into Syria to cleanse the surrounding areas of Iraq’s border and prevent the ISIL terrorists from crossing the border.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, Muslih underlined that Hashd al-Sha’abi forces have prevented the US Army’s spying on security units along borders with Syria.

“The US troops are trying to obtain precise and sensitive intelligence from Iraq’s along borders with Syria,” he said.

He reiterated that Hashd al-Sha’abi operations command has stopped US spying operations by preventing the US troops from getting close to Hashd al-Sha’abi units and forcing them to return to Ba’er al-Morasemeh base.

Muslih pointed to the US forces’ reconnaissance operations along Iraq-Syria borders and questions from border police and Iraqi army about the battle zones off the border regions, the amount of ammunition, type of weapons and the number of troops of each region, and explained that secret intelligence related to the forces stationed along the border regions helps them to easily target any region.

He pointed to the provocative measures by the US troops to obtain secret information from border security guards, and warned that the move is a blatant violation of Iraq’s national sovereignty.

In relevant remarks earlier in January, Muslih underlined the necessity for Washington to evacuate its military men from Iraq.

“Some reports have been released about establishment of new US bases in al-Anbar and Saladin provinces which is a violation of Iraq’s national sovereignty,” Muslih said.

He underscored the necessity for the US forces to leave Iraq, and said, “We are capable of supporting and protecting our land and borders and there is no need for the deployment of foreign forces.”

Demands for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq have increased after US President Donald Trump in a surprise visit late December landed at an airbase West of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where he thanked the soldiers for their service.

Iraqi political and popular forces’ leaders have condemned Trump’s unannounced trip to Iraq as a violation of their country’s sovereignty.