Shiite militias ride on the back of a truck with their weapons in al-Fatha, northeast of Baiji, October 18, 2015.

:: Ansar Al-Marja’iya Brigade, which is part of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization militias, has asked Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s office for permission to enter Syria to further uproot ISIS militants after the country’s forces have liberated most of its second largest city of Mosul.

The group requested permission for going as far as 30 kilometers inside Syria in order to eliminate ISIS militants in villages near the Iraq-Syria border, adding that it is its duty to protect Iraqi territories from danger emanating from Syria. This is not the first time the popular mobilization militias are seeking such a permission.

So far, there has been no response from the Iraqi government. However, Abadi last month made it clear that no militias are allowed to go beyond the Iraqi territories, describing the Iraq Army as the sole protector. Some observers, meanwhile, believe these militias just want to embarrass Abadi.

Brigades belonging to the PMU militias control 80 kilometers on west of Mosul while local sources say they have entered villages in two Syrian provinces of Deir Al-Zour and Hasakeh after ISIS have left these

Smoke rises from clashes in the Old City in Mosul, Iraq July 3, 2017.