Security Official:

US Hires Foreign Firms to Transfer Military Equipment to Western Iraq

TEHRAN (defapress)- The US has signed contracts with foreign security companies to transfer weapons and different military equipment from Syria and Jordan to Western Iraq to build new bases, an Iraqi security official said.

News ID: 76837

Date: 15 April 2019 - 15:01

"A number of foreign security firms have transferred weapons and military equipment from Syria and Jordan to Western Iraq, while they avoid presenting any detail about their goal," the official was quoted by the Arabic-language al-Ma'aloumeh news website as saying on Monday.

He added that the American forces are afraid of coming under attack if they carry arms and equipment on their own trucks and have, thus, called for assistance from foreign security firms.

According to the source, the foreign security firms have recently been running missions in Iraq under contracts with the US military men deployed in Ein al-Assad airbase, without the Iraqi government's knowledge.

In relevant remarks last Monday, a prominent Iraqi expert had also warned of the US attempts to increase forces in Iraq to take control of the country's border with Syria and protect ISIL ringleader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who is said to be kept in the same region.

Al-Ma'aloumeh quoted Kazzem al-Haaj as saying that the US is implementing President Trump's order to heighten the number of American forces in Iraq.

He added that the measure was aimed at taking control of the bordering areas between Iraq and Syria, specially the regions which hosted oil pipelines to Jordan, noting that some of the US forces were tasked with protecting al-Baghdadi.

Al-Haaj said that the US was imposing its presence on Iraq before the Iraqi parliament could approve a bill to expel the foreign forces, adding that Washington was deploying its forces and terrorist groups in important areas from the Western part of al-Anbar province to Northern Iraq.

Iraqi sources had also reported last month that the US aircraft had transferred more American forces to the Western Iraqi province of al-Anbar during nighttime.

The US airplanes deployed US Army soldiers in Ein al-Assad and al-Habaniyeh military bases in al-Anbar Province, head of Iraqi Badr Organization's Office in Al-Anbar province disclosed.

He noted that the US troops were deployed to other military bases in Western Desert of al-Anbar during daylight, and said that some spied for these forces in specific regions and cities of al-Anbar province.

Message end/