Pro-Iran militia eyes US forces at frontier

Shiite paramilitaries see US forces as a threat despite their common foe — Daesh

From a desert hillside guarded by Iraqi Shiite paramilitaries, commander Qasim Muslih can spot Daesh hideouts across the frontier in Syria.

But he also keeps a wary eye on US warplanes soaring overhead. “The Americans are spying on us,” he said, squinting skywards. “But we can hold the borders. We’ll fight whoever lays a finger on Iraq and its holy shrines.” The fighters Muslih commands are part of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a grouping of mostly Shiite militias backed by Iran, which the United States regards as the biggest threat to security in the Middle East.

PMF has been deploying in growing numbers at the border, fearing hundreds of Daesh militants who fled Iraq are trying to cross back into Iraqi territory.

The deployment is strengthening the PMF’s de facto control over large stretches of the frontier while its leaders are calling for a formal, permanent role securing the border. But with fewer Sunni militants to contend with on the Iraqi side a year after Baghdad declared victory over Daesh, many Shiite paramilitaries now see the United States as a bigger threat.

The White House has indicated the US military presence is as much about countering Iran’s influence as fighting Daesh. Asked about the suggestion of spying on the PMF, a coalition spokesman said: “The Coalition is concerned with the enduring defeat of Daesh.”

As the battle against a mutual foe rumbles on, Washington and Tehran are keeping a close eye on each other in this part of the region, raising the risk of new violence.

The PMF officially became part of Iraq’s security forces this year after playing an important role fighting Daesh.

Factions including Iranbacked groups that fight inside Syria have concentrated their recent build-up around the town of Al Qaim, recaptured from Daesh in November 2017 and the last of their bastions in Iraq to fall last year.

‘Wild West situation’

The PMF control movement in and out of the town near the border with Syria. One commander, Abu Saif Al Tamimi, said the PMF now held a 240 kilometre stretch of frontier in the area. “We’re ready to take over security,” Muslih said.

Military commanders in units not allied with Iran say US air power was crucial to the defeat of Daesh in a three-year campaign involving the military, Iraqi Kurdish fighters and PMF.

US forces have kept their bases in place. On the road to Al Qaim, US armoured vehicles passed PMF pickup trucks with machine guns.

In Syria, the US coalition supports Kurdish-led forces who control areas east of the Euphrates and have been fighting off a new Daesh offensive. In Iraq, it supports the Iraqi military.

Fighting militants on the other side of the river is the Syrian army, backed by Iran, Russia and PMF, who straddle the frontier. Tensions rose in June when the PMF blamed the US for the deaths of 22 of its fighters in an air strike near the border.