BEIRUT: An Iraqi Shiite militia fighting Daesh in Iraq near the border with Syria will also take on the jihadist group in the Syria border town of Albu Kamal, the militia’s spokesman was quoted as saying on Friday.
Jaafar Hussaini, the spokesman for the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia, one of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) fighting alongside the Iraqi army against Daesh, was speaking to Lebanese television channel Al-Mayadin.
Hussaini said the Iraqi resistance forces, a euphemism for Iran-backed Shiite militias, would take part in the battle against Daesh in Syria’s Albu Kamal because it borders Iraq, Al-Mayadin reported.
On Friday Iraqi forces, including PMF, took the Iraqi border town of Al-Qaim, near Albu Kamal, from Daesh.
The Syrian army and allied Iran-backed Shiite militias, supported by Russian air power, are approaching Albu Kamal as part of their own offensive against the Daesh enclave straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.
“Albu Kamal is in missile range of the Iraqi forces in Al-Qaim. The presence of our forces on the border with Albu Kamal means there will be a new front in the confrontation with Daesh,” Hussaini said using an Arabic acronym for Daesh.
The Syrian army and its allies are advancing toward Albu Kamal across the desert southwest of the city and along the Euphrates river from the northwest.
The Syrian government declared victory over Daesh in Deir Ezzor, the biggest city in eastern Syria, on Friday after two months of battle.
Iraqi Shiite militia says will fight Daesh in Syria border town
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