17 hours ago
Source: Extremist fighters threaten Iraq-Syria border security
Shafaq News – Baghdad/ Damascus
Iraqi security forces detected an unprecedented buildup by 'extremist factions' allegedly seeking to free foreign detainees from prisons near the Iraqi-Syrian frontier, a security source revealed on Saturday.
The source told Shafaq News that Iraqi authorities have launched contingency plans and reinforced border security in response to the increased military activity, adding that joint forces are using thermal cameras and reconnaissance to monitor movements along the shared border.
The official expressed fears that these factions could target high-value detainees held in Syrian camps, particularly Al-Hol, where several foreign commanders of extremist groups are imprisoned.
Meanwhile, Iraq's State Support Alliance—a political bloc in the Council of Representatives comprising five to six deputies that aligns itself with and supports Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani—warned of continued foreign plots to destabilize border regions.
Alliance member Ali Al-Fatlawi revealed to Shafaq News, 'We received intelligence that over 3,000 Afghan, Azeri, and Asian fighters are active in Syria, positioning to exploit vulnerabilities along the Iraqi-Syrian border.'
Recent weeks have seen a rise in militant activity in both Iraq and Syria. Iraqi forces killed two ISIS operatives in Kirkuk last Wednesday, days after a suicide bomber linked to the group detonated explosives inside Mar Elias Church in Damascus.
Observers acknowledge these incidents point to persistent sleeper cells operating on both sides of the border, which officially reopened on June 14. However, they believe the likelihood of ISIS regaining territorial control remains low due to local, regional, and international deterrents.
ISIS captured large swathes of Iraqi territory in 2014, including the provinces of Nineveh, Saladin, and Al-Anbar, before being driven out by late 2017. In Syria, the group lost its final stronghold in Baghouz in March 2019 following a major campaign by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Despite territorial defeat
