ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) commanders deployed along the Iraq-Syria border on Saturday dismissed what they described as threats from Damascus-affiliated forces, saying Iraq’s borders are secure as Baghdad steps up measures to prevent a spillover of instability from Syria.
Abu al-Hassanein, commander of the PMF’s al-Tufuf Brigade, rejected a video circulating on social media purportedly taken by the Syrian Arab Army and its allied factions that has been interpreted as a warning to Iraq.
“This is weak and cowardly propaganda. We are now on the [border]. Let them come and try their luck once again; they will see that they face the heroic role of Iraq's security forces and Hashd al-Shaabi [PMF],” he told Rudaw at the al-Qaim border crossing.
Abu Saif al-Tamimi, a representative of the same brigade, said PMF forces would prevent any breach of Iraqi territory.
“Let them say what they want, as long as we are here, they cannot reach Karbala or advance one foot into Iraq,” he said.
Qasim Muslih, the PMF’s Anbar operations commander, denied any direct coordination with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), saying such matters fall under state authority.
“No, we have no contact. I say again, we have no contact. But if the Iraqi government has any coordination between both countries, they [the government] handle it themselves, not the commanders here,” Muslih said.
The statements come amid heightened concern in Baghdad that the Islamic State (ISIS) is exploiting security gaps created by renewed fighting in Syria. On Wednesday, Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji warned that ISIS has taken advantage of clashes between Kurdish forces and Damascus-affiliated armed groups, during which detainees escaped from several prisons.
Factions aligned with the Syrian government have recently taken control of key detention facilities previously held by the SDF, including al-Shaddadi prison and the al-Hol camp in Hasaka province, as well as al-Aqtan prison in Raqqa. The sites house tens of thousands of ISIS members and their family members.
In response, Iraq has reinforced its western frontier, placing six PMF brigades, three border guard brigades, and four Iraqi army brigades on alert along the approximately 600-kilometer border with Syria.
Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Iraq’s commander-in-chief of the armed forces, said on Saturday that about 80 percent of a concrete barrier along the border has been completed, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA). The barrier is equipped with thermal cameras and forms part of a broader fortification system.
Concrete walls, barbed wire, and surveillance equipment have been installed along roughly 530 kilometers of the frontier, with about 90 kilometers remaining to be fortified.
At the final crossing point between Iraq and Syria, the flags of both countries face each other. While the border remains quiet, residents in nearby cities fear a repeat of 2014, when ISIS crossed into Iraq and seized large areas amid regional turmoil.
