Source: Iran fills void Russia left in Syria with Iraqi militia

A senior Iraqi security official has revealed that militia commanders in Iraq have recently held intensive meetings in the presence of the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Iraqi government officials in order to discuss the Russian withdrawal from Syria and its impact on the Iranian influence in the region.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf Online, the official, who asked not to be named, said: “Leaders of the Iranian Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard instructed militias in Iraq to send fighters to Syria, and to strengthen the Iranian presence in the Syrian territories, to fill the vacuum created by the Russian withdrawal.”

He spoke about a meeting held by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ leaders and the leaders of militias, including the League of the Righteous and the Badr Organisation, Abu Al-Fadl Al- Abbas, Hezbollah and Nujaba, in addition to leaders of a number of small militias formed after Daesh took control of the city of Mosul. The meeting saw the issuance of new instructions to send more members of those militias to Syria to defend the Syrian regime, “which will be in a dubious position after the Russian withdrawal.”

He added that Iran-loyalist militias promised to equip hundreds of fighters to be sent to Syria within a period not exceeding a month, after completing military training.

According to confirmed leaks from the meeting, the source said, some factions operating under the umbrella of the Popular Crowd refused to send their fighters to Syria to protect the Syrian regime amid talks that there was a conspiracy plotted against them.

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