Iraq says no intentions for operations in Syria, borders completely secured

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A source from the Joint Operations Command has indicated securing the borders between Iraq and Syria, saying that some Islamic State members were observed through surveillance cameras.

Speaking to Alghad Press on Wednesday, the source said “the troops secured the borders between Iraq and Syria completely. Surveillance cameras observed that the militants were five kilometers away in the depth of Syrian lands.”

The source added that troops “have no intentions to carry out any military operations in Syria and that they received orders to respond to any terrorist attack.”

The Iraqi armed forces “are deployed across the borders with Syria as well as in desert regions,” the source said expressing concerns about the withdrawal of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and suspension of its operations against the militants.

On Saturday, a senior officer from Jazeera Operations Command said the army’s artillery bombarded Islamic State pockets 10 kilometers in the depth of Syrian lands.

Thousands of Islamic State militants as well as Iraqi civilians were killed since the government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and the coalition was launched in October 2016.

In December, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi announced gaining control on all the territories that were captured by Islamic State, since 2014.