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Iraqi army completes trench to fortify border with Syria

An Iraqi M109 Paladin is staged to provide fire support into the Middle Euphrates River Valley Dec. 2, 2018. Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Mikki L. Sprenkle
PM:02:14:14/01/2022

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SULAIMANI — The Iraqi army said on Friday (January 14) a 3m-deep trench has been completed along the Iraq-Syria border, government media reported.

The Commander of the 20th Division of the Iraqi Army, Brigadier Gen. Atheer Hamza Jassim, said thermal cameras and drones would help to secure the border, while border guards and the military will monitor the frontier for a distance of 10 to 12km per international agreement, according to Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The drones will operate 24 hours a day to secure the border and aircraft on the border strip and provide intelligence for "preemptive operations,” the commander said, cited by INA.

He explained a secure environment was required for investment in order to reconstruct Sinjar and provide services.

He also noted new plans have been developed to provide security to the disputed areas between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Region, to "thwart any attempt to target Erbil province or Syria.”

Disputed areas in the Diyala and Kirkuk governorates have seen repeated attacks against the Iraqi army and Peshmerga forces from Islamic State (ISIS) militants since the fall of the militant group’s hold on territory in Iraq in 2017.

(NRT Digital Media)