Iraqi PM vows to take measures against IS attacks from Syria

BAGHDAD, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Tuesday that Iraq will take "all the necessary measures" to protect its border from attacks by the Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria.

"Daesh (IS group) organization is present in eastern Syria near the border with Iraq, We will take all necessary measures to confront their threat, and protect Iraqi civilians and security forces," Abadi said in a televised press conference after his weekly cabinet meeting.

Abadi said that Iraq "do not intervene in Syria, and the Syrian people are the ones who decide their fate," adding that the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria belongs to Washington itself, stressing his country's rejection of the presence of IS militants near the border with Syria.

He said that he had told U.S. President Donald Trump during the phone call on Sunday, that "the presence of Daesh in Syria, represents a menace to Iraq and to the world as well. And this is unaccomplished mission."

Abadi also revealed that there is cooperation with the governments of Syria and Russia to eradicate IS militants in eastern Syria.

The borderline between Iraq and Syria, which extends some 600 km in west of the two provinces of Nineveh and Anbar, has long been used by insurgent groups and IS militants for logistic support and to carry out cross-border attacks in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

On the other hand, Abadi denied any incursion by Turkish forces inside Iraq, nor buildup of Turkish troops near the border with Iraq.

"There is no Turkish mobilization on the Iraqi border, but there is shelling from them, mostly on rugged areas. We do protest any bombing on Iraqi soil in the Kurdistan region," Abadi said.

However, he said "we understand the long conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and we do not want to be part of it."

Abadi's comment came in response to Kurdish media reports that said Turkish forces pushed some 20 km into mountainous border area in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.

Turkish forces frequently carry out anti-terror operations, airstrikes and artillery bombardment targeting the positions of the PKK militants, with main focus on Qandil mountainous region, where the group's main base is located. Enditem