Amid fears of escalation between Israel and Iraq after the Israeli Foreign Minister confirmed that his country “..has the right to defend itself if attacks from Iraqi territory continue”. The residents of Sinjar district fear catastrophic consequences if pro-Iranian militias use Mount Sinjar as a base to launch attacks on Israel and American interests in the region.
Mount Sinjar occupies an important strategic location overlooking the Iraqi-Syrian border. It extends to a distance of more than 73 kilometers, starting from the northwest to the southeast of Sinjar district.
The mountain, which is more than 1,400 meters high, embraces dozens of villages, farms, and fields. Military sites are spread on its summit, which militias began exploiting since 2017, in addition to the presence of sites and headquarters of the Sinjar Resistance Units “Yebsha”, one of the wings of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which opposes Ankara and is classified as a terrorist group in the list according to the United States.
Alhurra spoke with local sources, including citizens and tribal leaders from Sinjar, in addition to officers in the security forces, and they agreed that the area is witnessing increased activity by the militias.
The sources that Alhurra spoke with requested not to reveal their identities for fear of being targeted by the militias.
Citizens and tribal figures living in the villages of the mountain and others in the surrounding complexes told Alhurra that they had witnessed, during the past weeks, the arrival of many large closed trucks to the headquarters of the armed factions on the outskirts of the mountain at night, amidst heavy guarding by the militants of the factions.
The local sources confirmed that the arrival of these trucks to the mountain was not familiar before.
The officers, who were contacted by Alhurra in Sinjar, confirmed that the information they obtained from the mountain through their relations with the militants of the factions, revealed that “the trucks were loaded with advanced Iranian-made missiles and drones, distributed between the headquarters of the factions on the outskirts of the mountain and its summit in preparation for using them to launch future attacks on American interests in Syria and on Israel.”
Alhurra tried to obtain a statement from the government and security authorities in Sinjar district and Nineveh province about militia movements in Sinjar Mountain, but it was to no avail.
However, representatives interviewed by Alhurra on the sidelines of the Fifth Forum for Peace and Security in the Middle East hosted by the American University in Dohuk province confirmed that there are concerns in this regard, and demanded the necessity of implementing the “Sinjar Agreement”.
The representative of Nineveh province, Sherwan Al-Dobardani, told Alhurra that “the fears of escalation are justified, especially in light of the activity of some factions and launching attacks on Israel from within Iraq..”
He added, “During the previous period, the lands of Sinjar, Zumar, and the Nineveh Plain were used to launch attacks on military bases in the region, as well as American bases in Syria. Therefore, implementing the Sinjar Agreement is sufficient to end the presence of any non-Iraqi factions, militias, or forces that may use Iraqi territory to launch attacks on sites inside or outside of Iraq.”
In the same context, the representative of Sinjar District, Majid Shankali, told Alhurra that “the Iraqi government and most political forces are working to spare Iraq from entering the regional conflict, but there are armed factions claiming resistance that announce military operations against Israel from time to time, so the federal government must be more decisive, so certainly, implementing the Sinjar Agreement will find many solutions for this region.”
The spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Major General Yahya Rasool, said in a statement on Wednesday that “Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, directed the armed forces and all security services to prevent and pursue any military activity outside the framework of state control.”
Rasool indicated that Al-Sudani directed the reinforcement of the western Iraqi borders through intensive activity, rapid deployment, and the development of necessary plans and work to prepare and ensure an effective security depth.
He stressed the government’s continuation of its measures to prevent the use of Iraqi territory to launch any attack, noting at the same time that the security measures have already resulted in the seizure of weapons prepared for launch, but he did not reveal the location.
The former officer in the Iraqi Intelligence Service, Salem Al-Jumaili, considered the Sinjar area a strategic location due to its proximity to the Syrian border and its position between the corridors used by Iran and its armed factions to transport weapons and resources to its allies in Syria and Lebanon.
Al-Jumaili told Al-Hurra, “In light of the escalation of regional tensions, fears are increasing that Iran will exploit this area to carry out attacks targeting American interests in eastern Syria and strike Israel. The area also constitutes an important crossing towards eastern Syria, where American forces are stationed in bases such as Al-Tanf and oil fields.”
Al-Jumaili points out that Sinjar’s mountainous terrain makes it an ideal area for transporting weapons and hiding long-range missiles, and this is reinforced by the presence of old tunnel networks that were previously used by terrorist organizations.
Al-Jumaili points out that despite Sinjar being about 800 km away from northern Israel by air, it is a suitable environment for hiding and concealment, in addition to being a point for transporting weapons and missiles from Iran via Iraq to Syria, using unofficial crossings close to Sinjar.
Many pro-Iranian militias are stationed in Sinjar district, including the mountain, most notably the militias of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, Al-Nujaba, Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Badr Brigades, and Imam Ali Brigades.
Idris Zouzani, a member of the 17th branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Sinjar, told Alhurra, “As for using Sinjar as a launching pad for attacks on American interests, there is certainly a presence of groups from the Popular Mobilization Forces and other Iraqi militias loyal to Iran, and Iran may mobilize these militias at any time to destabilize security in the region.”
Zozani points out the presence of militias and PKK militants on the outskirts of the mountain, noting that their movements in the mountain are not public and are hidden.
Zozani continued, “PKK militants dug many long tunnels on the edges of the mountain and in several areas of Sinjar, such as Khanasour, Sinuni, Tal Ezir and the surrounding areas, which also host headquarters for pro-Iranian militias.”
In 2014, Sinjar was attacked by ISIS, which carried out genocide against its Yazidi population, killing and kidnapping thousands of them. However, after the region was liberated from the organization in November 2015, the majority of its residents have not been able to return to it yet, due to the multiplicity of military forces deployed there in addition to the destruction caused by the battles.
Official statistics obtained by Alhurra from the Sinjar city administration indicate that the number of displaced people who have returned to it so far has reached about 40% of its population, while 60% of them are still displaced in the cities of the Kurdistan Region.
Sinjar Agreement
In October 2020, the federal government in Baghdad signed an agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government under international supervision to normalize the situation in Sinjar. The agreement stipulated the evacuation of all armed groups, most notably the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the factions affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, and the handing over of its security file to the local police, in preparation for the return of the displaced and the start of reconstruction, but the agreement has not been implemented yet.
Zozani confirms that Iran has the largest share in obstructing the implementation of the Sinjar Agreement, and supports the militias and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, in order to be an obstacle to the return of the displaced people of Sinjar to their city safely.
In the same context, the Yazidi representative in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Mahma Khalil, told Alhurra that “the factions loyal to Iran, a section of the Popular Mobilization Forces, and followers of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party are the ones who are obstructing the implementation of the Sinjar Agreement so far.”
The Sinjar Resistance Units “Yabsha” joined the ranks of the Popular Mobilization Forces at the end of 2020 within the “80th” Regiment, and two of the regiment’s leaders were killed in Turkish drone strikes targeting them in Sinjar during the past four years, according to previous statements by the Popular Mobilization Forces Authority.
Shaho Qardaghi, a political analyst at the Raman Center for Research and Consulting, believes that Iran will not risk targeting Israel from Mount Sinjar.
Qardaghi explained to “Alhurra” that “Iran knows that the option of using Mount Sinjar may bring with it repercussions that harm its interests inside Iraq. Instead, Tehran is currently relying on the Syrian and Lebanese arenas and is trying to keep Iraq away from the circle of conflict, given the great economic interests that trade relations provide it.”
On November 18, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that he had sent a letter to the UN Security Council urging it to pressure the Iraqi government to “put an end to attacks on Israel by militias loyal to Iran.”
In recent months, Iraqi armed factions loyal to Iran, known as the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq,” have repeatedly announced drone attacks on targets in Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip. Israel announced that its air defenses had intercepted a number of them.
Sa’ar stressed in his letter that “Israel has the right to defend itself, as stipulated in the UN Charter, and to take all necessary measures to protect itself and its citizens from the hostile actions (…) of the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.”
In contrast, the Iraqi authorities expressed their “categorical” rejection of the letter, considering it “a dangerous escalation and an attempt to manipulate international public opinion to justify aggression,” calling on “all active parties to reject escalation, prioritize dialogue, and adhere to the principles of international law.”
