Iraq Secures Border with Syria to Prevent Infiltration of ISIS Militants

FILE: Iraqi soldiers carry weapons during an operation against ISIS militants in the frontline in neighborhood of Intisar, eastern Mosul, Iraq, December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
FILE: Iraqi soldiers carry weapons during an operation against ISIS militants in the frontline in neighborhood of Intisar, eastern Mosul, Iraq, December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
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Iraq Secures Border with Syria to Prevent Infiltration of ISIS Militants

FILE: Iraqi soldiers carry weapons during an operation against ISIS militants in the frontline in neighborhood of Intisar, eastern Mosul, Iraq, December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
FILE: Iraqi soldiers carry weapons during an operation against ISIS militants in the frontline in neighborhood of Intisar, eastern Mosul, Iraq, December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Iraq’s government announced taking a series of new measures to prevent the infiltration of ISIS militants through the border with Syria.

Commander of the Border Guards Lieutenant General Hamid al-Husseini announced on Thursday that fortifications have been initiated to secure the borders, including the installation of thermal cameras and control towers.

“More than 150 control towers will be erected in Mount Sinjar,” he noted, stressing the efficiency of the thermal-camera systems.

According to Husseini, the situation is constantly improving.

The 617 kilometer-long border will be under the border guards’ control, he stressed, pointing to their determination to eliminate the threat posed by ISIS remnants.

ISIS militants recently stepped up their attacks in Iraq, prompting the NATO to expand its training mission in the country from 500 to around 4,000 personnel.

Notably, Baghdad and Washington revealed earlier that US military has cut troop levels in Iraq to 2,500 amid continuous calls for foreign troops to leave the country.

Meanwhile, attacks on US targets in Iraq continue despite a number of armed groups announcing a truce and vowing not to attack US interests, including the US Embassy in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

On Thursday, a roadside improvised explosive device targeted a convoy carrying supplies for the US-led coalition forces on an international road in Diwaniyah. No causalities were reported.



Lebanese President Says Hezbollah Disarmament Will Come through Dialogue Not ‘Force’ 

President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Lebanese President Says Hezbollah Disarmament Will Come through Dialogue Not ‘Force’ 

President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)
President Joseph Aoun in Baabda on Feb. 11, 2025. (AFP)

Lebanon's president said Monday that the disarmament of the Hezbollah group will come through negotiations as part of a national defense strategy and not through “force.”

The Lebanese government has made a decision that “weapons will only be in the hands of the state,” but there are “discussions around how to implement this decision,” President Joseph Aoun said in an interview with Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Those discussions are in the form of a “bilateral dialogue” between the presidency and Hezbollah, he said.

Lebanon has been under pressure by the United States to speed up the disarmament of Hezbollah but there are fears within Lebanon that forcing the issue could lead to civil conflict.

“Civil peace is a red line for me,” Aoun said.

Aoun said the Lebanese army — of which he was formerly commander — is “doing its duty” in confiscating weapons and dismantling unauthorized military facilities in southern Lebanon, as outlined in the ceasefire agreement that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in late November, and sometimes in areas farther north.