Iraq raises concerns with Syria over security threats from IS remnants
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The head of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service stressed that "what is happening in Syria directly affects Iraq, and vice versa."
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A motorist passes by a flag of the Islamic State group in central Rawah, 175 miles (281 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, on July 22, 2014 (AP)
Baghdad has conveyed its concerns to Damascus regarding the security threats posed by remnants of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, which has resurfaced in certain areas of neighboring Syria, stated the head of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service, Hamid al-Shatri.
“Iraqi and Syrian arenas are closely interconnected, and what is happening in Syria directly affects Iraq, and vice versa. Iraq has sent clear security messages to Syria about the threats posed by some extremist groups,” the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted Shatri as saying during the 7th Baghdad International Dialogue Conference on Sunday.
The senior Iraqi intelligence official emphasized that Baghdad prioritizes the fight against IS, given the presence of affiliated sleeper cells in the desert regions of Syria’s central Homs province and surrounding areas.
He further revealed that 9,000 IS members are currently detained in prisons and detention centers across Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province, including 2,000 Iraqi nationals.
“We want to know how the new Syrian administration will deal with this issue,” al-Shatri stressed.
He also voiced concerns over the proliferation of weapons falling into the hands of militant groups, including IS, following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
"Iraq continues to send messages and communicate with the Syrian leadership to achieve positive results and there is interaction with it," the head of Iraq’s National Intelligence Service said.
Citing informed sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, Iraq’s al-Maalomeh news agency reported last month that IS militants are active in approximately a dozen regions across Syria.
The sources further indicated that nearly half of the weapons used by IS terrorists are of US origin, suggesting that the group is being covertly armed.
They also claimed that IS militants are moving freely across vast areas of Syria, with American occupation forces taking no action to target them.
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