The head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Faleh Al-Fayyadh, denied on Monday that his forces had entered Syrian areas.

The Iraqi official confirmed, during a special interview with the “Iraqiya News” channel that will be broadcast at a later time, that he “categorically denied the entry of the Popular Mobilization Forces into Syria.”

Al-Fayyad added, “What is happening in Syria has direct repercussions on Iraqi national security,” noting that the directives of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, included increasing the presence and strengthening (military) units on the fronts.

In a Facebook post by the Popular Mobilization Forces’ Media Directorate, on Monday, it reported that its forces, in partnership with other forces from the Iraqi army, headed to the western border with Syria.

News has been circulating over the past hours, saying that Iraqi forces affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces have joined the fight in Syria in support of Syrian regime President Bashar al-Assad.

The Popular Mobilization Forces include many armed brigades, some of which are supported by Iran, but in general, the organization is part of the official army. It was included after the end of the operations to liberate the city of Mosul from ISIS in the summer of 2017.

The forces were established based on the fatwa of “sufficient jihad” issued by the highest Shiite authority in Iraq, Ali al-Sistani, in order to fight ISIS after it occupied large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

The forces, which consisted of armed militias and thousands of volunteers who responded to Sistani’s call, participated, along with the Iraqi army and Iraqi coalition forces, in the liberation battles from ISIS.