Shiite militia leader: Iraq prepares for contingencies amid Syrian crisis

Iraq has acknowledged that the events in Syria are an internal matter but, according to Faleh al-Fayyad, leader of the Shiite militia Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, is preparing to counter any terrorist threats.

"The Syrian crisis is an internal issue, but Iraq is preparing for any emergency situation to confront terrorists," said al-Fayyad, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

He added that "Iraq cannot turn a blind eye when terrorists, backed by the West, control Syrian territory."

Al-Fayyad believes that "even though Iraq is not a party to the conflict, it must protect itself, as what happens in Syria is part of Iraq's own security." According to the militia leader, Israel's military operation in Gaza "has moved the entire region to a new stage" because the current Israeli government "seeks to expand the conflict in the Middle East in order to ease the pressure on its own administration due to the aggression in the Palestinian enclave."

On the previous day, one of Iraq's most prominent figures, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, warned the Iraqi government against any possible intervention in Syria. He stated that "the Iraqi government, all [Iraqi] factions, including the security forces and the militia groups, should not interfere in Syrian affairs." Al-Sadr added that the government should instead prevent "individuals from calling for such intervention and punish them for jeopardizing security in Iraq itself."

Earlier, an official spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Yahya Rasoul, denied reports of Iraqi militia forces crossing into Syrian territory.

On the morning of November 27, fighters from the Jabhat al-Nusra launched a large-scale attack in northern Syria. According to a statement from the Syrian military, the rebels attempted to advance on villages and cities under the protection of the Syrian army, as well as military sites. 

The army began to repel the assault. On November 30, the military reported airstrikes on the positions of militants who had managed to infiltrate several districts of the city of Aleppo.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the Syrian army was forced to regroup its forces to protect the lives of civilians and military personnel and prepare for a counterattack. 

By Aghakazim Guliyev