Rouhani and Hizballah vow to defend Shiite shrines in Iraq

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, echoed by Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah, vowed Wednesday to send forces to defend Shiite shrines in Iraq against “killers and terrorists.” He referred to the Shiite holy places in the towns of Karbala, Najaf, Khadhimiya and Samarra. DEBKAfile cites reports that Iran has pulled most of the Iraqi Shiite militias fighting for Bashar Assad out of Syria and deployed them against ISIS in Iraq. This has forced Nasrallah to come up with an extra 1,000 fighters to fill the gap in Syria. More than 2,000 Iranian troops have already been sent to Iraq along with Al Qods Brigades chief Gen. Qassem Soleimeni