Iraqi Army Tightens Security on Border with Syria

Iraq's Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammad al-Sudani (AFP)
Iraq's Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammad al-Sudani (AFP)
TT

Iraqi Army Tightens Security on Border with Syria

Iraq's Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammad al-Sudani (AFP)
Iraq's Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammad al-Sudani (AFP)

The Iraqi army forces escalated security measures on the border with Syria to tighten the security gaps between the two countries.

An official source of the local administration of al-Anbar governorate announced that army forces had begun field reconnaissance operations on the border strip areas with Syria.

According to the source, a security force from the Army's 7th Division, accompanied by high-ranking security leaders, toured the areas of the border strip with Syria ahead of moving the army forces from within the cities, according to the directives of the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammad al-Sudani.

The redeployment aims to fill security gaps and clamp down on ISIS terrorists, who often carry out infiltration operations in desert areas.

According to Iraqi intelligence information, the remnants of the terrorist organization are moving in those areas.

The source added that according to the security plan, the army forces would be at a distance of 15 km in the Iraqi depth, while the border guards would hold the first line of defense.

He pointed out that the security plan was to transfer the army forces outside the cities and hand over the security to the local police forces and the tribal mobilization forces, explaining that the evacuation of army positions from inside the towns comes after the security situation has stabilized.

The source confirmed that the new security plan focuses on maintaining border security and redeploying army forces in the desert areas of the province to prevent any breaches.

Meanwhile, the US military announced that a facility belonging to the International Coalition in Deir Ezzor Governorate, eastern Syria, was hit by five missiles, wounding a US service member.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the Koniko gas field in Deir ez-Zor was hit by missiles fired from areas held by the regime forces and Iranian militias stationed in the city.

The Observatory indicated that planes of the "International Coalition" responded by shelling the positions of the Iranian militias in al-Omal and Harabish neighborhoods in Deir Ezzor, where violent explosions were heard in the city.

Lawmaker of Fatah Alliance Intisar al-Moussawi called for ending the "repeated US violations" on the border between Iraq and Syria.

Moussawi said in a press statement that Iraq still hasn't implemented the law passed by the parliament to remove all US forces from Iraqi territory.

She asserted that Iraq's sovereignty was one of the most critical steps that must be consolidated by the government during the coming period by obliging the US administration to remove all its forces from Iraq.

Moussawi pointed out that the US presence on Iraqi soil means it continued to violate the country's sovereignty through repeated attacks on the border.



Hamas Says Delegation Discussed Gaza Truce With Egypt

05 May 2024, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: A Palestinian inspects a damaged house after Israeli warplanes bombed a home for the Al-Shaer family, leading to widespread destruction in the Al-Salam neighborhood, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
05 May 2024, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: A Palestinian inspects a damaged house after Israeli warplanes bombed a home for the Al-Shaer family, leading to widespread destruction in the Al-Salam neighborhood, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
TT

Hamas Says Delegation Discussed Gaza Truce With Egypt

05 May 2024, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: A Palestinian inspects a damaged house after Israeli warplanes bombed a home for the Al-Shaer family, leading to widespread destruction in the Al-Salam neighborhood, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
05 May 2024, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: A Palestinian inspects a damaged house after Israeli warplanes bombed a home for the Al-Shaer family, leading to widespread destruction in the Al-Salam neighborhood, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa

A Hamas delegation discussed a ceasefire in Gaza with Egyptian intelligence officials, two officials from the Palestinian group told AFP on Monday.

The "delegation met with the head of the Egyptian general intelligence, Major General Hassan Rashad, and a number of Egyptian intelligence officials, and discussed ways to stop the war and aggression, bring in aid, and open the Rafah crossing" at Gaza's border with Egypt, said a senior Hamas official who was part of the Cairo meeting on Sunday evening.

A second Hamas official also present in Cairo told AFP that "Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye are making great efforts to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange".

"Our Palestinian people are waiting for American and international pressure on (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to stop the war and reach an agreement as happened in Lebanon," the official said.

The meeting came shortly after Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah agreed on a ceasefire in Lebanon with mediation from the United States and France.

US President Joe Biden would launch a renewed drive for a ceasefire, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week, adding Biden told his envoys to engage with Türkiye, Qatar, Egypt and other actors in the region.

Egyptian authorities did not publicly comment on any meetings with Hamas on Sunday.

The first official said any deal Hamas agrees to should include the conditions the movement has brought forward since the start of the war.

These include a full ceasefire, complete Israeli military withdrawal, unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes, "a serious deal to exchange prisoners in one go or in two stages", and reconstruction of the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Israel has also repeatedly accused Hamas of delaying talks and not sincerely wanting to reach a deal.

The Hamas senior official also told AFP that "under Egyptian sponsorship" the Hamas delegation met Sunday evening with a delegation from the Fatah movement, Hamas's long-term rival currently in power in the occupied West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.

He said that the meeting focused on "arrangements for the internal Palestinian situation and the management of the Gaza Strip once the war ends".

The talks aimed to agree on the shape of "an independent administrative committee to manage the strip and supervise aid, crossings and reconstruction, in agreement with all Palestinian factions".

Jamal Obeid, a member of Fatah's leadership in Gaza, told AFP that Egypt was making intensive efforts to stop the war.

"The first priority (is) the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the return of the displaced, the opening of the crossings, relief for our afflicted people, and reconstruction under the management and supervision of the Palestinian National Authority," he said.

Obeid said meetings in Cairo between Fatah and Hamas were crucial in order "to stop the war and put the Palestinian house in order", and agree on what shape governance will take in Gaza after the war ends.