US soldiers sent to Iraq-Syria border: Tribal spokesman

By Azar Mohamed and Majed Asaad

MOSUL, Iraq (AA) - The U.S. hopes to establish control over the Iraq-Syria border and has deployed troops to Iraq’s Sinjar Mountain region for this purpose, according to a spokesman for the Arab tribes of Iraq’s northern Nineveh province.

“Roughly 150 U.S. troops in about 20 armored vehicles have recently been deployed to Nineveh’s Sinjar area,” Muzahim al-Hewitt told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

“The deployment came as a surprise to the Hashd al-Shaabi [a Shia contingent of the Iraqi army that also maintains a presence in Sinjar], but does not appear to have bothered PKK terrorists in the area,” he added.

According to al-Hewitt, the region’s Arab tribes oppose U.S. military support for the YPG/PKK, which they believe was sent to the region “by foreign powers”.

On Saturday, Sinjar District Governor Mahma Khalil confirmed that U.S. soldiers had been recently deployed to Sinjar.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Khalil said U.S. forces hoped to establish a military base on Mount Sinjar.

And on Friday, Colonel Ahmed al-Jubouri, head of the army’s Nineveh operations command, said an Iraqi force -- accompanied by U.S. “advisers” -- has assumed control over the border zone between Syria and Iraq.

“It is hoped that this force will establish a permanent military base on Mount Sinjar,” al-Jubouri said.

In mid-2014, the YPG/PKK moved into Sinjar on the pretext of “protecting” the local Ezidi community from the Daesh terrorist group.

Earlier this year, after Turkey hinted at a possible military operation in Sinjar, the YPG/PKK announced plans to withdraw from the region.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU. Its three-decade terror campaign against Turkey has cost more than 40,000 lives, including women and children.