Iraqi Commanders: Turkish Spies Helping ISIL Terrorists Flee to Turkey, Syria

“It has become known over the past few days that some ISIL commanders are Turkish nationals, and all those who are in charge of ISIL’s Mosul operations have received Turkish citizenship, hence Turkey intends to help them escape from Mosul through a safe corridor,” Spokesman of Iraq’s Hezbollah Battalion Jafar al-Hosseini told FNA on Wednesday.

Al-Hosseini noted that Hashd al-Shaabi popular troops are also responsible for confronting the withdrawal of these top commanders and other terrorists toward Baishqa military base in addition to helping Iraq’s joint military forces against the ISIL in Nineveh province.

Meantime, a senior commander of Sayyed al-Shohada battalions Hassan Abdol Hadi disclosed the Turkish agents’ spying activities in different cities of Nineveh province, specially the city of Tal Afar.

“The most important goal of the Turkish spies is helping the ISIL terrorist commanders to escape to Syria or Turkey,” Abdol Hadi said.

On Monday, a senior commander of the Iraqi volunteer forces announced that his forces have started advancing towards Tal Afar airport, and cautioned that the Hashd al-Shaabi fighters might clash with the Turkish army troops in the area.

“Hashd al-Shaabi forces started the second round of their mop-up operation mission at Tal Afar airport; the airport is located 8 kilometers from Tal Afar city and Hashd al-Shaabi forces are advancing cautiously due to the possibility of clashes with the Turkish army,” Hassab Abdel Hadi said.

He noted that the Turkish forces are in the surrounding areas of Tal Afar, but some of them have entered the city in plainclothes “because Hashd al-Shaabi is advancing towards Tal Afar and al-Mahlabieh and has, hence, cut the (ISIL’s) aid route to Raqqa” in Syria.

Abdel Hadi pointed to the Turkish army’s movements in Northern Mosul, and said “the Iraqi government has already warned Turkey to leave the region”, but they don’t because the latter considers “Mosul as a province of the Ottoman Empire”.