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.



Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
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Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)

The health ministry in the occupied West Bank said one person was killed and nine injured in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp, with the Israeli military saying Saturday it had opened fire at "terrorists".

An 18-year-old man, Muhammad Medhat Amin Amer, "was killed by bullets from the (Israeli) occupation in the Balata camp" in the territory's north, the Palestinian health ministry said in a late-night statement, adding that nine people were injured, "four of whom are in critical condition".

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the raid began on Friday night and triggered violent clashes, AFP reported.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops entered the camp from the Awarta checkpoint and "deployed snipers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings".

In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said that during the "counterterrorism" operation, "terrorists placed explosives in the area in order to harm (military) soldiers, hurled explosives, molotov cocktails, and rocks and shot fireworks at the forces".

"The forces fired toward the terrorists in order to remove the threat. Hits were identified," the statement said.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since war broke out in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Since then, at least 815 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

In the same period, Palestinian attacks in the West Bank have killed at least 25 Israelis, according to official Israeli figures.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since conquering it in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.