Shafaq News– Nineveh
Iraq has reinforced security along its border with Syria after clashes there raised concerns over the safety of prisons holding thousands of ISIS detainees and the risk of spillover into Iraqi territory.
Shafaq News on Thursday observed deployments by the army, border guards, and Popular Mobilization Forces along the western Nineveh sector, with units positioned on the zero-line facing Syria.
In a statement, Interior Ministry spokesman Muqdad Miri said the fortifications reflect years of planning, adding that Iraq’s border with Syria is now among the country’s most heavily secured.
No suspicious movements have been detected so far, Border Guard commander Ali Abdul Shia Al-Tamimi earlier told Shafaq News.
Fighting in northern and eastern Syria between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces has heightened alarm over detention sites after clashes spread to areas near prisons and camps previously guarded by the SDF. More than 10,000 ISIS fighters and tens of thousands of women and children linked to the group have been held for years in detention facilities across northeastern Syria, according to United Nations estimates.