Exclusive: Iraq takes urgent amid Syrian developments
Shafaq News/ Iraqi authorities took urgent action in response to what they described as concerning developments in Syria, based on military intelligence reports.
An informed intelligence source told Shafaq News that a brigadier general from the 4th Presidential Guard Division, formerly part of Bashar Al-Assad's military, had formed a military council against the current authority, as well as armed Druze and Kurdish forces opposed to Damascus.
The Iraqi intelligence source noted that these developments coincided with a large-scale offensive by the Syrian government on the coastal region of Latakia. Airstrikes, believed to be “carried out by Russian forces, were reported to have targeted the advancing fighters aligned with President Al-Assad's rival, Ahmad al-Sharaa, near areas populated by Alawites.”
Reuters reported earlier on Friday that activists from the Alawite sect and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the killing of at least 20 men from an Alawite village in a rural coastal region of Syria.
The attack was corroborated by a video reviewed by Reuters, showing the bodies of 20 men lying side by side, some of which were bloodied, along a roadside in the town of Al-Mukhtariya, near a highway. Satellite imagery matched the location.
The source also mentioned that Al-Sharaa-led administration is currently supporting foreign fighters, contrasting with the Iraqi Border Guard’s 9th Brigade.
In response, a senior Iraqi government source confirmed that directives were issued from Baghdad, which included increased vigilance along the Syrian border. The instructions also emphasized the preparation of reserve forces, enhanced surveillance with thermal cameras, and the readiness of support weapons and night vision equipment.
Earlier on Friday, a Syrian Ministry of Defense source revealed that the death toll had risen significantly due to clashes between Syrian security forces and fighters loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad. Violent confrontations broke out Thursday evening in Latakia province, resulting in dozens of fatalities, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
