President Bashar al-Assad Makes Revelations on Iraqi Officials’ Odd Request

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has revealed that some senior Iraqi government officials have asked him to open its borders to allow extremist groups to commute to Iraq, Arab media sources disclosed on Sunday.
“Some Iraqi leaders who play a role in Iraq’s political process have called on the Syrian president to leave open its borders to allow the extremist Jihadis to enter Iraq via Syria,” Baghdad-based Al-Sabah newspaper quoted media sources as saying.

“President Assad has reiterated that the Syrian government has recorded voices of the Iraqi officials who have asked for his assistance to harm Iraq’s political tranquility,” the newspaper reported.

President Assad’s Media Advisor Bouthaina Sha’aban had earlier said that the Iraqi politicians who criticize the Syrian government are the same ones who asked the Syrian government to leave open its borders to the Jihadis.

Earlier this week, Iraq said its forces have foiled an attempt by militants to infiltrate the country from Syria.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry said in a statement issued on Monday that the forces engaged a “terrorist group” that used 20 vehicles and more than two dozen motorcycles to enter Iraq’s Anbar Province.

The Iraqi forces pushed the armed militants back after a two-hour clash, the ministry added.

The border clash came after Iraq said earlier this week that it had discovered three underground tunnels on its border with Syria, which were used by militants to smuggle weapons into Syria.

The foreign-backed militancy in Syria has had spillover effects in neighboring countries including Lebanon and Iraq.

In addition to infiltration attempts by militant groups, Iraq is also witnessing bombings and shooting attacks on an almost regular basis. The Baghdad government blames Al-Qaeda for the carnage.