Iraq News
Security

Iraqi forces receive posts to secure border with Syria

By Khalid al-Taie

An Iraqi fighter waves the national flag as he walks ahead of pick-up trucks carrying members of the Iraqi forces, as they advance through Anbar province, 20 kilometres east of the city of Rawa in the western desert bordering Syria, on November 25th, 2017. [Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP]

An Iraqi fighter waves the national flag as he walks ahead of pick-up trucks carrying members of the Iraqi forces, as they advance through Anbar province, 20 kilometres east of the city of Rawa in the western desert bordering Syria, on November 25th, 2017. [Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP]

The international coalition is supplying Iraqi forces with ready-made border posts to be installed along the border with Syria, the Iraqi Border Guards Command announced Thursday (January 18th).

"The international coalition forces have initiated a programme to equip our forces with ... integrated border posts," Border Guards Commander Maj. Gen. Hamid Abdullah Ibrahim told Diyaruna.

"Some of them have reached the Ein al-Assad military base in western Anbar province," he said, noting that the posts are equipped with communication devices, advanced military equipment and various fortifications.

Each post is equipped with two military vehicles, he added.

Patrol forces have begun to receive training on using the technology and equipment needed to operate the posts, Ibrahim said.

"The posts will be installed along the border strip with Syria, as the long borders there pose a major challenge to our forces," he said.

The border posts that were previously used to guard the frontier were all damaged when ISIS elements overran large swathes of Iraq in 2014.

"There are more than 213 destroyed posts and subsidiary posts," Ibrahim said, adding that border patrol forces are currently using tents and caravans.

The government on December 5th announced a "comprehensive" plan to secure the Iraqi-Syrian border against the infiltration of militants.

The international coalition is supporting the Iraqi government's efforts in this regard by equipping the border defence system with the latest tracking and surveillance technology, along with weapons and military equipment.

It also is training border patrol forces to boost their combat and border control abilities.

The coalition's support has helped "build forces that today enjoy high expertise and skills in carrying out the duties of hunting down the enemy, targeting its bases and combating all attempts to threaten border security", Ibrahim said.

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