The Iraqi army announced on Tuesday that it had thwarted an attempt by eleven Syrians to illegally cross into Iraqi territories.
It said they were detained in the Nineveh province and investigations are underway with them.
The development took place as the Iraqi government has sought to intensify security measures along the border with Syria in wake of a spike in illegal crossings from between the neighbors.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had made the order in December 2020, but experts believe that the border is still not completely secured given how long it is. This, in turn, has allowed ISIS remnants and smugglers to thrive.
Security expert Dr. Motaz Muhieddine told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iraq is constantly trying to secure its border with Syria, but all the measures have so far fallen short given how vast the area is and just how familiar ISIS members and smugglers are with it.
He suggested that greater efforts were needed, including reaching an agreement between the Iraqi and Syrian governments.
As it stands, he remarked, some Syrian regions are not even controlled by Damascus, but defectors, which makes it easier for smugglers and infiltrators to cross into Iraq.
Meanwhile, Iraqi forces announced the arrest of five terrorists in the western Anbar province. In Nineveh, the police command said one ISIS member was arrested during a raid in Mosul.
The Joint Operations Command estimated that some 1,000 ISIS members were operating in Iraq.
