May 28, 2018

Iraq is working to secure its western border with Syria from the militants that have been infiltrating the country to conduct terror attacks on Iraqi territory for the past 15 years. The Iraqi military has started cooperating with its Syrian counterpart to rid both countries of the last remaining Islamic State (IS) cells and secure the border between them.

Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar met with his Iraqi counterpart Qasim al-Araji in February to discuss cooperation on border security, an issue successive Iraqi governments have grappled with since 2003.

On May 21, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued directives to secure the border and prevent the infiltration of terrorists. In a May 22 address, Abadi stressed the need to secure the Iraqi-Syrian border, saying, “The clearance operations are ongoing, and we have successfully secured the Syrian side of the border, where IS militants have been crushed, especially in Upper Mesopotamia. There is cooperation to secure the rest of the areas near our border.”

According to Ahmed Jidiyan, the administrator of Qaim district near the Syrian border, ongoing cooperation between the Iraqi and Syrian armies has “prevented the infiltration of terrorists into Iraqi territories.”

The Iraqi army is also cooperating with other parties active on the ground in Syria, such as the Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the US-led international coalition. Working together, they liberated the area of al-Baghuz near Deir ez-Zor.