Iranian troops have crossed the border of and are joining the fight against Al Qaeda-affiliated ISIS jihadists, according to a report by FOX News .
The report cites a U.S. intelligence official is quoted saying:
“Baghdad is going to be overrun. The Green Zone is going down.”
According to the report, at least 150 of Iran’s elite Quds Force of their Revolutionary Guards have been mobilized from Tehran to join the Iraqi defense against ISIS forces that have overrun two northern Iraqi cities and are reportedly have hundreds of U.S. civilian contractors surrounded in Baghdad, Iraq.
The unit’s commander, Qassem Suleimani, has reportedly met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and pledged to send two elite brigades, reportedly to help with the “defense of Baghdad.” The Iraqi prime minister is reportedly considering Suleimani’s offer, especially in the light of recent comments by U.S. President Barack Obama indicating that he has ruled out the possibility of using U.S. ground forces to quell the violence or defend Baghdad from ISIS. Iran’s offer to help Iraq defend itself against ISIS could amount to as many as 10,000 Iranian ground troops in Iraq.
The Iraqi government has sufficient reason to be concerned about its tenuous position. Not only are ISIS forces bearing down on Baghdad – and in a related report released by The Inquisitr they reportedly have surrounded hundreds of American civilians – but the US-trained Iraqi security forces have largely fled in the face of the Sunni-Muslim led insurrection. According to a report in The Telegraph , Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki believes that the ease with which Iraqi forces have been set to flight is due to a conspiracy against his rule and not simply a breakdown in military discipline.
ISIS leader Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani has been quoted by intelligence sources, saying:
“…March to Baghdad al-Rashid, the Baghdad of the Caliphate. We have a score to settle…Be certain of the victory of Allah as long as you fear Him.”
ISIS has also taken to social media, warning locals and Muslim sheiks and religious leaders not to cooperate with the government of Iraq, warning that those who do will be treated as traitors. The terrorist organization, which is reportedly made up of an international group of fighters, including Yemenis and Tunisians, has also released instructions for Iraqi women to “dress decently and wear wide clothes.”
With President Barack Obama on the record that he will not commit US ground troops and ISIS closing the noose on Baghdad, it’s hard to imagine how the Iraqi government can turn down the help – even if it does come in the form of Iranian ground troops.
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