Iraq strengthens Syrian border security amid 88% decline in terrorism

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Security measures along the Iraqi–Syrian border have reached their strongest level to date, the Interior Ministry announced Wednesday, as concerns over cross-border ISIS activity renewed following the collapse of Syria’s Al-Assad regime on December 8, 2024.

At a press briefing, Brig. Gen. Muqdad Miri, director of the ministry’s Public Relations and Media Department, outlined expanded deployments of border posts and military positions, the completion of concrete barriers, and the installation of 1,200 thermal cameras along the frontier. He added that maritime security has been strengthened through the deployment of 20 patrol boats to protect Iraq’s territorial waters.

Miri reported a 14 percent decline in major crimes and an 88 percent drop in terrorist activity over the past three years, with 222 ISIS members arrested and large volumes of related material seized.

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He also cited a 14 percent reduction in murder, kidnapping, and rape cases, alongside an 80 percent crime-detection rate, 86 percent execution of arrest warrants, 72 percent completion of investigative files, and 98 percent issuance of records for convicted inmates.

According to Miri, security forces have dismantled hundreds of criminal networks and expanded ISIS-related intelligence archives to more than two million documents, while a dedicated database continues to monitor displaced persons, including individuals connected to Syria’s Al-Hol camp, which houses tens of thousands of ISIS-affiliated families.

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