Iraq builds fence along border with Syria to keep jihadists out

IRAQ has started building a fence along its border with Syria to stop Isil jihadists crossing into the country, a border guards spokesman said yesterday.

“Ten days ago we started to set up a barbed wire security fence with surveillance towers along the border with Syria,” said Anwar Hamid Nayef, a spokesman in Iraq’s Anbar province.

The frontier barrier includes a 20ft-wide trench and involves thermal cameras and drones scanning the border for jihadists attempting to cross from Syria.

Baghdad declared victory over Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) at the end of last year, but the group holds pockets of territory in the deserts of eastern Syria and within Iraq.

Groups of Isil fighters are still active in the Anbar desert, and there are believed to be sleeper cells elsewhere in the country.

Last week, Shia paramilitary forces clashed with Isil in the northern city of Kirkuk, which has been the scene of sporadic jihadist violence, and the bodies of eight captives murdered by Isil were found along a highway north of Baghdad.

So far, the new fence stretches 20 kilometres (12 miles) north from the area around the border town of Alqaim, which Iraqi forces retook from Isil in November. In total, the frontier is around 370 miles.

Mr Nayef said experts from Baghdad’s ministry of defence and an antiisil coalition spearheaded by the US would come “to evaluate the effectiveness of the fence”. “If they approve the installations, we will continue along the whole border with Syria,” he said.

As part of an ongoing attempt to combat Isil, Iraqi forces have carried out air strikes against the terror group inside Syria.

Yesterday, Jordan stepped in to try to avert further violence and stem another wave of displacement across its border with Syria after the Syrian army seized rebel-held territory in Daraa, in the southwest.

Jordan is mediating new talks between rebels and the Syrian government’s main ally, Russia, for a truce in the besieged area.

Talks on Saturday broke down as the army seized more ground in its offensive, with insurgent lines in some areas collapsing, and a string of towns and villages accepting the return of government rule after intense bombardment.

Discussions yesterday were difficult, said diplomatic sources familiar with the talks.

370 The length in miles of the border between Iraq and Syria. So far the Iraqi fence being built covers just 12 miles.