According Kurdistan 24, which was the first to report the story, citing Jalal Khalo, Deputy Mayjor of Sinjar, also known as Shingal, “15 military vehicles of US troops arrived on top of Mount Shingal and stationed themselves near Mira peak on the mountain.”
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His words were later picked up by Governor Khalil, who told the Anadolu Agency that the United States was preparing to establish a military base on the strategically important mountain.
Iraqi Maj. Gen. Najim al-Jubouri has, however, denied claims about of a new US base while speaking with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Kurdistan 24 reported.
“US advisers are in Mosul, Qayyarah, and other parts of the Nineveh Province. They had told us that we should take precautionary measures at the border,” al-Jubouri said, claiming that the information came from unreliable sources.
He also said that Iraqi forces were mobilized to Sinjar to shield the Syria-Iraq border from Daesh* militants who may be trying to cross from Syria.
“The involvement of the US military in supporting Iraqi forces in securing the border does not go beyond its scope, which is to provide military advice,” the official said.
Daesh had invaded Shingal in August 2014, and as a result, the region had been significantly destroyed, and abandoned by thousands of Yazidis. Sinjar was liberated in 2015, while the end of the Iraqi fight against Daesh was announced by Prime Minister Haider Abadi last December after the military established complete control over the country’s border with Syria.
Since 2014, Daesh had been in control of large parts of Iraq after capturing its second-biggest city, Mosul, and pronouncing it the terrorist group’s so-called capital.
*Daesh, also known as ISIL/ISIS/IS, is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries.