Islamic State (ISIS) militants are attempting to cross into Iraq from Syria, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi warned this week following a visit to the Joint Special Operations Command headquarters. 

Hundreds of ISIS militants currently battling US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hajin, eastern Syria are trying to cross the border into Iraq, the PM warned on Tuesday. 

“Iraqi forces are carrying out their duties to pre-empt any attempts by ISIS to infiltrate the border and cross into Iraq,” he told reporters. 

Around 20,000 Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitiamen were recently deployed to the border in western Anbar province to shore up defenses. 

Abbas Hamza Hassan, 56, is a Hashd fighter from Basra. Since 2014 he has participated in several battles with ISIS, mostly defusing car bombs. 

In pictures taken by AFP in al-Qaim, Anbar province on November 13, Hassan is seen training other Hashd fighters how to defuse these devices and how handle suicide bombers.

Although former PM Haider al-Abadi declared the defeat of ISIS in Iraq in December 2017, remnants and sleeper cells are still carrying out attacks in Kirkuk, Diyala, and Saladin. There are also worrying signs of a resurgence in Anbar and Nineveh.

Mosul, the former ISIS stronghold in Iraq, suffered a car bombing last week – the first since the city’s liberation in summer 2017.

Any large-scale ISIS incursion from Syria could seriously undermine Iraq’s fragile security.

The Iraq-Syria border has seen significant investment in recent months. 

Photos: Ahmad al-Rubaye / AFP