Iranian backed Shiite militias could prove a more dangerous force as they fill the void left by ISIS, experts warn

FEARS of an Iranian backed "Shiite Crescent" developing in the Middle East in response to ISIS are growing.

Sunni countries fear Tehran could attempt to develop a land corridor from the Iranian capital to Beirut sparking further violence in the region.

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Leading Sunni Iraqi politician Saleh al-Mutlaq told the : “Unless you start thinking about the conditions that created ISIS in the first place and try to overcome these conditions, there will be a new ISIS again, maybe of a different kind."

Currently the Sunni extremist group provides a buffer between Iran and their Shiite allies in Syria and Lebanon.

Although the group is evil it breaking the land mass between those powers provides a small silver lining to Sunni Muslims in the area by suppressing Shiite power.

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But as they are driven back by coalition forces more and more land is being conceded to groups of the smaller Islamic sect.

Groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Badr in Iraq are filling the void left by the ISIS retreat and are fare better equipped and trained than the ragtag band of Sunni jihadis.

The groups are also openly hostile to Saudi Arabia with a stated aim of dismantling the kingdom to bring Islam's holiest sites under Shiite control, further destabilising the region.

Many Western governments currently see the Shiite groups as preferable to ISIS's brutality but Saudi Arabia has warned this may not be the case.

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The former head of Saudi intelligence, and nephew of the king, Prince Turki al-Faisal warned: “They are equally threatening, and one feeds off the other.

“Both of them are equally vicious, equally treacherous, and equally destructive.

“It’s wishful thinking that, if we try to embrace them, they may tango with us. That’s an illusion."

Andrew Tabler, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said: “Iran’s power has spread further afield than before in terms of direct military power.

"We have never had so many Shiite militias operating in so many different areas, and fighting in traditional Sunni strongholds."