Iraq army targets militant convoy on Syria soil
Iran Press TV
Sun Apr 27, 2014 3:4PM GMT
Iraqi army helicopters have attacked a terrorist convoy inside Syria as it sought to come near the border, an Interior Ministry spokesman says.
Brigadier General Saad Maan said on Sunday that the army hit "eight tanker trucks in Wadi Suwab inside Syrian territory as they were trying to enter Iraqi territory."
He added that the tankers were to supply the Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with fuel.
At least eight people were killed in the assault, which was the first carried out by Iraq on the Syrian soil.
The vehicles were reportedly heading to Iraq's western province of Anbar, where ISIL militants have been battling Iraqi security forces over the past few months.
Violence broke out in Anbar in December 2013, when the army removed an anti-government protest camp in Ramadi. Authorities said the camp was used as "headquarters for the leadership of al-Qaeda." The bloodshed later spread to the nearby city of Fallujah.
The violence has inflicted severe damage on Iraq infrastructure, and forced nearly 400,000 people to flee homes.
The government in Iraq has blamed Riyadh for the chaos, saying the Saudi regime is funding and arming militants in the country's western areas.
In an interview with BBC Arabic on Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki highlighted that the turmoil in Syria was causing "security problems" in Anbar.
The Iraqi premier said Riyadh has prohibited Saudi nationals from entering Iraq, but is still facilitating the entry of foreign terrorists into the country.
"[It is] clearly interference in Iraqi affairs. Whilst it is true that Saudi Arabia prohibited Saudi nationals from entering Iraq, it is possible to send non-Saudis. There are many Nigerian and Chadian mercenaries who are paid money to enter Iraq," Maliki stated.
MR/PR/SL
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