BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb 20 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, said that, most of the Daesh militants remaining in Syria are Iraqi citizens, asserting that, Iraqi forces are closely following the situation there.
“We will wait and watch the movements in Syria, as it is purported that Daesh militants would surrender, and most of them are Iraqi nationals,” Abdul Mahdi told a press conference.
“We are going to strike a devastating blow to prevent them (Daesh) from any impact on the security situation in Iraq,” Abdul Mahdi said, without giving further details about the strike.
He said, Iraq is concerned about developments of the battles in neighbouring Syria, which is witnessing the clearing of the last pocket of Daesh extremist group near the Syrian border with Iraq.
Iraqi security force and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi brigades, are deployed on the borderline between Syria and Iraq, which extends to some 600 km west of the two provinces of Nineveh and Anbar.
The long borderline between the two countries has long been used by insurgent groups and Daesh militants for logistic support and to carry out cross-border attacks in Iraq, since the U.S.-led invasion.
Meanwhile, Abdul Mahdi reiterated that, there is no military bases for foreign troops, and that all the military bases are Iraqi ones, which contain some foreign military experts and trainers.
“All military bases in the country are Iraqi bases, and there is no existence for foreign military bases,” Abdul Mahdi said.
He also said that the number of U.S. troops in Iraq “is still around 5,200, and there are some 2,500 to 3,000 non-American foreign troop experts, but all of them have one goal and one duty, that is, to train Iraqi forces and help fight against the Daesh.”
Last week, Abdul Mahdi confirmed, during his meeting with acting U.S. Secretary of Defence, Patrick Shanahan, who was on a visit to Baghdad, that, Iraq “will not accept any foreign bases on Iraqi territory,” according to a statement by Abdul Mahdi’s office.
