Iraqi army gains control of entire border with Syria

By Amir Al-Saadi

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq’s military on Saturday announced it has gained control of the roughly 600-kilometer (372.82-mile) border strip with Syria.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the border strip, Hamid al-Hussieni, commander of the Iraqi Border Guards, said there will no infiltration into the Iraqi territories any more.

He added that barbed wire had been installed from the Iraqi-Syrian-Jordanian triangle to the end of the northern region of the Euphrates River in the city of Qaim, located in far west Anbar province.

Iraqi officials earlier revealed that the separation fence includes electrified barbed wire, and special surveillance towers with thermal cameras that have the ability to detect infiltrators throughout the day.

Between mid-2014 and mid-2016, the Iraqi border from Mosul to Anbar was under the control of the self-proclaimed Daesh terrorist organization after the withdrawal of Iraqi military forces in charge of protecting borders following ongoing attacks by Daesh.

Daesh reportedly still controls some areas inside Syrian territory, some of which are on the Iraqi border in the Al-Bukamal area.

Baghdad says that the Syrian border has been an outlet for the flow of the terrorist al-Qaeda’s militants in the past, while became the same passage for the terrorist Daesh organization later.

Last December, officials in Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence in Iraq had been all but dismantled over operations backed by the U.S.-led International Alliance.

However, from time to time, Iraqi officials announce operations against Daesh-affiliated "sleeper cells" in certain parts of the country.