Syria, Iraq troops link at border after years
Syrian troops and allied militias met up with Iraqi forces at one crossing point along their shared border on Sunday for the first time in years, in a step described as a major achievement by the Syrian military in their fight against the Islamic State group.
The development reported by pro-government media Sunday comes a day after Iraqi forces captured a border crossing point with Syria, al-Waleed, from the IS militants.
A Syrian general on the progovernment al-Ikhbariya TV channel said the campaign in recent weeks seized 25,000 square km, reaching the Iraqi borders, calling it a “qualitative operation.”
“This is the sign of the cooperation between the brotherly Iraqi and Syrian military leadership to secure the shared borders,” the unnamed general told the pro-state TV. AP