Iraqi Forces Cleanse Tens of Regions Along Western Borders with Syria

The Command Headquarters of the Joint Iraqi Operations in a statement on Sunday reported that the massive joint military operation of the Iraqi forces (named Eradeh al-Nasr) started with the partnership of Hashd al-Sha’abi (popular forces) and tribal forces in the regions stretching among the Salahuddin, Nineveh and al-Anbar provinces towards the border with Syria.

The Arabic-language al-Ma’aloumeh News Website quoted Hashd al-Sha’abi forces as saying that the first phase of the operation covered Nineveh province from three directions, and has already resulted in cleaning up more than 28 towns and villages.

The commander of headquarters of al-Jazireh Operations, meantime, reported that during the clean-up operations in Salahuddin at least 16 hideouts were cleaned up and bombs and military equipment of the terrorists were destroyed, while 15 regions were also cleansed.

Meantime, the Arabic-language website of the Russian Sputnik news agency quoted joint military operations command of Eradeh al-Nasr as saying that during the operation a 10-square-kilometer area behind Iraq’s border with Syria has been cleansed and a military base of the ISIL terrorists was also destroyed in Nineveh province.

In a relevant development in late June, a prominent Iraqi security expert warned of the US plot to transfer the ISIL terrorists to the bordering areas with Syria in collaboration with the two countries’ tribes.

Al-Ma’aloumeh news website quoted Hossein al-Kanani as saying that the US attempts to transfer the ISIL terrorists to the bordering areas of Iraq and Syria and build safe shelters for them through coordination with a number of tribal leaders in the region.

He referred to the recent attempts by US Ambassador to Baghdad Matthew Tueller to meet the Iraqi tribal leaders, and said other goals are also pursued by the measure, including targeting the Hashd al-Shaabi (Iraqi popular forces) and Iraqi security forces in these regions and cutting Tehran-Baghdad-Damascus-Beirut connections by taking control over the Iraqi-Syrian borders.

Meantime, a senior official in al-Qiyarah region in the Southern parts of Nineveh province said that the ISIL terrorists have increased their operations in the desert areas in the Western parts of the region under the nose of the US planes and drones that fly over the same regions.

Also, commander of Hashd al-Shaabi forces in Iraq reported that his forces had started military operations to cleanse and establish security along a 120-km chunk of the Iraqi-Syrian borders between the provinces of al-Anbar and Nineveh in Western Iraq.