Ibrahim Ramadan, Baladi News
The deputy leader of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Militia has announced launching a new battle that aims at controlling the Iraqi-Syrian border, pointing out that they are planning to enter the Syrian territories under the pretext of "fighting ISIS terrorism".
Abou Mahdai al-Muhandis pointed out in an interview with the Lebanese "al-Akhbar" newspaper that he doesn't exclude the probability of entering the Syrian territories under the pretext of hunting ISIS or the possibility of clashing with the American forces on the borders in case the US attacked the locations of the sectarian units.
al-Muhandis stressed out that they in the Popular Mobilization Units consider Assad's regime a legal one and that Bashar al-Assad and the Iraqi prime minister Haidar al-Abaadi are combating terrorism. He also defended their probable entry to Syria saying that: "any country that respect itself can't allow the existence of terrorist gatherings that are threatening it without taking an action", adding that "combating terrorism in Syria is their legitimate right".
It's worth mentioning that regime forces and the Iranian militias are trying to advance on the Syrian desert in order to control al-Tanef crossing with Iraq which is now controlled by FSA factions under the support of the international coalition.