ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A commander of the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia said that his forces are fighting under Iraqi Army command and their main task is to cut the road between Mosul and Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold in Syria. “We move according to the plan that has been designated by the chief of armed forces. We won’t enter the center of Mosul,” Karim al-Nuri, one of the Hashd commanders in the Mosul offensive, told Rudaw. “The task of our forces is to cut the road between Raqqa and Mosul and protect that border,” he said. Al-Nuri denied that his forces’ participation would create sectarian tension. “On the contrary, this participation is to strengthen the brotherhood and defend the people of Mosul,” he said. He rejected also that there were any sensitivities about the Shiite forces fighting for predominantly Sunni Mosul, except among some politicians. “We fight and sacrifice for our Sunni brothers. Daesh (ISIS) does not represent Sunnis. Before being an enemy of Shiites, Daesh is an enemy of the Sunnis, he said. “We have coordination with other forces and are part of the joint operations command and linked to the chief of the armed forces. What he decides, we follow the orders. Two days ago when he ordered us to not enter a place, we did not. And yesterday again the same; we did not enter a place on his order.” Al-Nuri denied that coalition forces were needed for the liberation of Mosul. “We do not need the coalition’s support for the simple reason that this battle will be in the streets, city blocks and houses. We do not need the global coalition because if there is any airstrike done by mistake, people will consider it was done deliberately. Therefore, we do not think it is a good thing for the global coalition to take part.” He added that the militia’s main task is to fight and expel ISIS from Iraq, but that the force is ready to fight the militants beyond Iraqi borders, especially in Syria. “Our main task is to reach the border and end ISIS in Iraq, and if they ask us, we will collaborate with the Syrian government against ISIS. But now is not a time to talk about this. Our main task is to liberate Mosul.” Several of the larger and more powerful militias in the Hashd al-Shaabi are funded and supported by Iran, which is the primary backer of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and has been supporting him throughout the course of the ongoing war there.
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