Iraqi Shiite Militia Groups Warn Saudi Arabia Against Drills Near Border

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Saudi Arabia should be careful when conducting drills near the Iraqi border, as it will become a "graveyard" for those who try to approach it, Ahmed Assadi, the spokesman for Iraq's formation of Shiite militia groups, said Saturday.

Media reports emerged earlier this week, suggesting that the Sunni kingdom was about to start large-scale military exercises — the so-called Northern Thunder — in the north of the country, with the participation of ground and air forces from Egypt, Sudan, Jordan and other Arab and Islamic countries that are a part of a Saudi-led anti-terror coalition.

“We want to clearly tell them…on behalf of all the resistance fighters in Iraq, all the soldiers, that the country's border will be a graveyard for anyone who tries to approach it or touches the Iraqi land," Assadi from Popular Mobilization Units said, as quoted by Iraq's television channel Alsumaria.

The Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance was formed in December 2015 amid the spread of Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh) militants, outlawed in a number of states including Russia, in Iraq and Syria.

The coalition has over 30 members, including Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Libya, Yemen, Malaysia, and Pakistan.