IRAQ REOPENS SYRIA CROSSING IN WIN FOR MUTUAL ALLY IRAN

Iraq reopened its Qaim border-crossing with Syria on Monday after eight years of closure amid regional turmoil, in the latest sign of normalization between Baghdad and Damascus and a win for their mutual ally Iran. The crossing, which Iraqi officials declared open for travellers and trade, is crucial for Iran’s bid to cement its growing sway over a corridor of territory from Tehran to Beirut.

The opening of the crossing signified “the victory of the Iraqi and Syrian people over all terrorist groups, especially Daesh,” said Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad Khaled al-rahmoun, using a term for Islamic State.

It would revitalize Syrian-iraqi economic cooperation, said Iraqi border authority chief Khadhim al-ikabi, who like Rahmoun was attending a ceremony with local governors of provinces on both sides of the border, a Reuters journalist said.

The western Anbar province town of Qaim, 300 km (185 miles) west of Baghdad, was recaptured from Islamic State in November 2017 and was the group’s last bastion in Iraq to fall.

It borders the Syrian town of Albukamal, which was also an Islamic State stronghold. The towns lie on a strategic supply route and the crossing between them had only been open for government or military traffic since 2011.