Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi declares full control of Baaj town on Syrian border

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - The state-sponsored Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), on Sunday announced that its forces have regained control of the town of Baaj, located on the Syrian border, a few hours after it announced the offensive against the Islamic State (IS).

The attack was launched from "three fronts" to quickly gain control of the town as part of a multi-stage offensive which began earlier this month, the PMF stated.

It also mentions that two of its brigades broke into Baaj from the south while one advanced from the northern front of the town.

"The liberation of Baaj town is a great achievement and victory," the Hashd al-Shaabi stated.

Lt. Gen. AbdulAmir Yarallah, head of the Nineveh Operations Command also confirmed on Sunday that the Hashd al-Shaabi had "liberated" Baaj from the jihadist group with the support of Iraqi warplanes.

The advance of the PMF in the area has concerned Peshmerga forces and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), namely due to its presence near the Kurdish Ezidi-populated city of Shingal (Sinjar) located north of Baaj.

The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga Forces General Command stated on Tuesday that the agreement between the Region and the Iraqi government for operations west of Mosul near Shingal had been breached on several occasions.

“According to our agreement with the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi, there must be a joint operation by Iraqi forces and Peshmerga near the Shingal area, but it is very unfortunate that they have breached this agreement,” KRG Prime Minister Nechrivan Barzani told Kurdistan24 on Saturday.

He also noted that he respects the sacrifices made by the PMF in the area, but that their presence will disturb the security and stability in the region.

Barzani called for dialogue to avoid any problems between the Peshmerga and Hashd al-Shaabi.

Editing by G.H. Renaud