Iraqi PMF Chief Delivers Message to Assad From Kadhimi

Assad met Thursday with head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Faleh Al-Fayyad, delivering a message from Iraqi PM (SANA)
Assad met Thursday with head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Faleh Al-Fayyad, delivering a message from Iraqi PM (SANA)
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Iraqi PMF Chief Delivers Message to Assad From Kadhimi

Assad met Thursday with head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Faleh Al-Fayyad, delivering a message from Iraqi PM (SANA)
Assad met Thursday with head of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Faleh Al-Fayyad, delivering a message from Iraqi PM (SANA)

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday received a message from Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, conveyed by head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Faleh Al-Fayyad.

The Syrian official news agency SANA said that the message was related to bilateral relations, issues of mutual concern, and developments on the political and security levels, particularly the war against terrorism, and the existing cooperation between the two countries to confront it and clear its remnants from the border region.

During the meeting, the two sides also exchanged viewpoints on the situation in the region, the challenges it faces, and the importance of maintaining Syrian-Iraqi coordination and consultation in various fields, SANA said.

The visit came one day after Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein discussed in a phone call with his Belgian counterpart Sophie Wilms the importance of strengthening work and uniting international efforts to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria, due to its direct impact on security and regional stability, including Iraq's.

The Iraqi Minister called for addressing the humanitarian situation of families in Al-Hol camp in Syria and preventing ISIS from penetrating camps of displaced people, spreading its terrorist ideology, and reorganizing its ranks.

A 610-kilometer (380-mile) border separates Syria and Iraq.

Baghdad suffers from this long cross-border frontier, which helps ISIS remnants to infiltrate Iraqi territories and serves as a corridor for all their military and commercial transportation.



Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Smuggling

 Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Smuggling

 Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli jets struck seven crossing points along the Syria-Lebanon border on Friday, aiming to cut the flow of weapons to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon.

Israeli troops also seized a truck mounted with a 40-barrel rocket launcher in southern Lebanon, part of a haul from various areas that included explosives, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 automatic rifles, the military said.

The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, said Hezbollah was trying to smuggle weapons into Lebanon to test Israel's ability to stop them.

"This must not be tolerated," he said in a statement.

Under the terms of a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in phases while unauthorized Hezbollah military facilities south of the Litani River are to be dismantled.

However, each side has accused the other of violating the agreement, intended to end more than a year of fighting that began with Hezbollah missile strikes on Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, from Gaza.

On Thursday, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon called for Israeli forces to withdraw, citing what it said were repeated violations of the deal.

Israel, which destroyed large parts of Hezbollah's missile stocks during weeks of operations in southern Lebanon, has said it will not permit weapons to be smuggled to Hezbollah through Syria.

Israel has also conducted attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen in recent days and pledged to continue its campaign against Iranian-backed militant groups across the region.