Iraqi armed group urges government to deploy troops to Syria

Iraq's powerful Iran-aligned Kataeb Hezbollah armed group has called on Baghdad to send troops to Syria to support the Damascus government against a rebel offensive.

Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, made the appeal in a statement shared on pro-Iranian Telegram channels late Monday. Excerpts were also posted on its official website.

The rebel offensive, led by opposition, has seized the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, stirring concern in political and security circles in neighbouring Iraq.

A spokesman for Kataeb Hezbollah, part of the Iran-backed "axis of resistance", said the group had not yet decided to deploy its own fighters but urged Baghdad to act.

"We believe the Iraqi government should take the initiative to send regular military forces in coordination with the Syrian government, as these groups pose a threat to Iraq's national security and the region," the spokesman said.

Kataeb Hezbollah has previously fought in Syria alongside forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

In Iraq, it is part of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a coalition of former paramilitary forces now integrated into the regular armed forces.

This coalition, under the Iraqi prime minister's command, denies involvement outside Iraq's borders.

Iraq remains scarred by the rise of the Islamic State group in 2014, which saw the jihadists capture nearly a third of the country before being defeated in 2017.

On Monday, Iraq said it had sent armoured vehicles to bolster security along its 600-kilometre (370-mile) border with Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported the deployment of about 200 pro-Iranian Iraqi fighters in Syria's Aleppo region to back government forces.