ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The pro-Iran Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah on Tuesday called on Baghdad authorities to send troops to war-torn Syria to support the Syrian regime against a rebel offensive, amid recent escalations in the northern regions of the neighboring country.
"We believe the Iraqi government should take the initiative to send regular military forces in coordination with the Syrian government, as these groups pose a threat to Iraq's national security and the region,” a spokesperson for Kataib Hezbollah said.
The spokesperson for Kataib, which is part of the Iran-backed Axis of Resistance, said their group had not yet decided to deploy its fighters to Syria but asked Baghdad to do so.
Kataib Hezbollah has previously fought in Syria alongside forces loyal to the Syrian regime.
Syrian opposition armed groups, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a surprise offensive against the Syrian army in Aleppo and Idlib countryside on Wednesday, triggering one of the bloodiest escalations in the Syrian civil war in years. The clashes have claimed the lives of over 400 people in less than a week, according to a war monitor.
The rebel offensive has stirred concern in political and security circles in neighboring Iraq, with Baghdad officials voicing apprehension over the escalations and their repercussions for Iraq.
Hence, Iraq on Monday deployed additional armored units to fortify its international borders, with the interior ministry claiming that the country’s borders with Syria are “impenetrable”.
"The fortifications of the Iraqi borders are the best in the history since the establishment of the Iraqi state borders," Interior Ministry spokesperson Miqdad Miri told reporters on Monday, adding that they have positive readings for the future.
Miri said that relevant authorities over the past two years have made great strides in fortifying Iraq’s international borders, which extend 3,719 kilometers with six neighboring countries, adding that the borders with Syria are “the most secured.”
“Our borders with Syria are secure and there is no fear regarding these borders, and there is no comparison between the state of the borders in 2014 and today, as there is a great intelligence effort from all agencies to support the current operations,” said Border Forces Commander Mohammed al-Su’aidi during the press conference.
The opposition's self-proclaimed Syrian Salvation Government on Sunday issued a statement assuring the people and government of Iraq that they do not pose a threat to Iraq or other countries in the region, adding they were committed to strengthening "brotherly ties" with neighboring Iraq.
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