Iraqi Shiite Militia Ready to Assist Fighting Terrorism on Assad Invitation

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the Iraqi Shiite militia, does not rule out the possibility of assisting Syrian President Bashar Assad in his fight against terrorism, the PMF spokesman, Ahmed Assadi, said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — He added that the move would only be possible after the liberation of Iraq.

"If we were to be present [in Syria], it should be at the request of the Syrian government and with the approval of the Iraqi parliament and administration," Assadi told journalists as quoted by the Tasnim news agency on Tuesday.

The PMF forces are currently taking part in the liberation of Mosul.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting Syrian opposition groups striving to overthrow the president. Damascus is also fighting numerous extremist and terrorist groups such as the Jabhat Fatah al Sham and Daesh, both outlawed in Russia. According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 Syrians have died since the beginning of the conflict.