Iraq maintains steel tight grip on Syrian frontier

Shafaq News– Baghdad

Iraq’s security forces have the capacity to fully secure the country’s border with Syria, senior security officials told Shafaq News, as authorities continue close monitoring of developments along the frontier.

Saad Maan, head of the Iraqi Security Media Cell, described surveillance along the Syrian border as uninterrupted, noting that no movements have triggered concern. He outlined a layered security posture built around more than three defensive lines in depth, supported by army units, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and other security formations.

“There is no need to dispatch additional forces to the border,” he added, stressing that existing units remain sufficient to carry out the mission.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Major General Tahseen Al-Khafaji assessed Iraq’s borders as ''more secure than at any previous stage in the country’s history,'' attributing this to advanced counterterrorism capabilities. These include surveillance cameras, cybersecurity systems, reconnaissance aircraft, air force assets, army aviation, and ambush operations extending from border areas toward major cities.

Pointing to the strategic role of Ain Al-Asad air base, which recently came under full Iraqi control following the withdrawal of the US-led Global Coalition forces, he noted that the base provides oversight of key operational sectors in the Jazira and desert regions, as well as areas within Saladin province.

The reinforced border posture coincides with the US Central Command (CENTCOM) beginning a “safe and systematic” transfer of around 7,000 ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to “secure” facilities in Iraq, a move CENTCOM described as coordinated and agreed upon with Iraqi authorities.

ISIS lost territorial control in Iraq in 2017 but remains active as an insurgent group, with cells operating in desert and rural areas, as well as provinces including Diyala, Kirkuk, Saladin, and Al-Anbar. Iraq’s Joint Operations Command has estimated that security forces carried out dozens of operations and airstrikes in 2025, killing more than 90 ISIS militants and targeting senior leaders.

In Syria, thousands of ISIS fighters and suspected affiliates are held in detention centers and camps such as Al-Hol, facilities long flagged by the United Nations and rights groups including Amnesty International as security risks due to overcrowding, radicalization, and repeated escape attempts.