US Advisers, Intelligence Forces More Dangerous than Military Presence: Iraqi Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The commander of Anbar operations for the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Qassem Musleh says the presence of American advisers and intelligence forces in Iraq is more dangerous than its military presence in the country.
Stressing that there will be no “scene of Daesh” in Iraq as long as there is a PMU present in the country, Musleh said, in an interview with Al-Ahed channel, that "it is not easy for the Daesh fugitives from the Syrian prison of Hasakah to enter Iraq”.
At least 70 inmates were killed in the Daesh’s attack on Hasakah prison, which began on Thursday.
The Daesh terrorists detonated a car bomb near the prison gates, helping dozens of inmates flee to the neighboring Ghwayran district of Hasakah, witnesses and officials said.
The US-backed SDF initially said it had thwarted the breakout and arrested nearly 90 militants sheltering nearby, but later acknowledged that inmates had taken over parts of the facility.
“We have taken adequate security preparations to prevent the entry of terrorists into Iraq," Musleh said, noting that there are good security coordination between the Iraqi forces and the Syrian side.
Musleh added that all of Iraq including its tribal and security forces are prepared and ready “to prevent the bitter experience of 2014,” vowing that there will be no scene of Daesh in Iraq as long as there is a popular mobilization force present in the country.
"Today, the PMU is a striking ideological force capable of performing its duty to the fullest extent, and we have a strong intelligence system," he continued.
The commander of Anbar also censured the presence of international coalition forces in Iraq, pointing out that they have targeted the PMU in the past and warning that they might do it again as their drones are flying over the heads of their units in the town of Al-Qaim all the time.
Backed by the PMU, Iraq put an end to Daesh’s territorial rule on its soil in late 2017, more than three years after the terror group emerged in the Arab country and captured swaths of land in its western and northern parts.
However, Daesh sleeper cells have continued to launch terror attacks against security forces and civilians from time to time.
