DAMASCUS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2019) Iraq's Shia Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), known as Hashd Shaabi, claimed on Tuesday that a part of attacks on its military bases had been carried out from Syrian territories controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Iraqi militias' bases and arms depots have been targeted by a spree of airstrikes since July 19. On August 25, two PMF fighters were reportedly killed in a drone attack in the province of Anbar, located on the border with Syria. Since August, the PMF has also been reporting about regular flights of unidentified drones over its military bases.
"According to investigation results, some of the drones that attacked Hashd Shaabi bases in Iraq were launched from the territory of Syria controlled by the SDF. There is a possibility that the attacks were carried out by the SDF in coordination with the Zionist entity [Israel], perhaps the unmanned aerial vehicles were simply launched from their territory," militia commander Muhammad Basri told al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper.
According to the commander, the investigation is 90 percent complete, with final results due to be announced by Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
A co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, the SDF political wing, Riad Darar, in turn, refuted the allegations, noting that the Kurdish units had no unmanned aerial vehicles in their possession.
"Such accusations are groundless and cause laughter, especially what concerns our cooperation with Israel," Darar told the newspaper.
According to Darar, there is no reason for the SDF to confront the Iraqi militias.
Earlier, military sources in Baghdad said that the Iraqi authorities were considering a number of steps to improve air defenses, including possible acquisition of advanced missile defense systems. The Hashd Shaabi militias, in turn, have claimed that the August drone attacks were carried by Israel in coordination with the US-led coalition in the region.
