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Iraqi PM approves reopening al-Qa'im border crossing with Syria

Saturday, 28 September 2019 10:34 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 28 September 2019 10:56 AM ]

Iraqi soldiers stand guard with their weapons on the border crossing with Syria, in al-Qa'im, Anbar Province, on November 13, 2018. (Photo by AP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi has authorized the reopening of the al-Qa'im border crossing with Syria as both countries manage to restore security to the region.

The Iraqi state news agency INA quoted the Arab country's border agency chief as saying on Friday that the crossing will be opened for travelers and trade on Monday.

The crossing, which connects the town of al-Qa'im in Iraq's Anbar Province to the Syrian city of Bukamal in Syria's Dayr al-Zawr Province, was closed in 2013 to support Iraqi forces in their fight against al-Qaeda militants and later Daesh terrorists.

Al-Qa'im and Bukamal lie on a strategic supply route and the crossing between them had only been open to government or military traffic.

The planned opening of the border crossing comes at a time that both Syrian and Iraqi governments have mostly purged their countries of Takfiri terrorist outfits.

In October 2018, the Nassib crossing border crossing between Jordan and Syria opened to people and goods after being closed for three years.

PressTV-Jordan reopens vital border crossing with Syria

Jordan has reopened its main border crossing with Syria, bringing a key Middle East trade route back to life after a three-year closure.

In recent weeks, however, Israel has launched attacks on the pro-government Iraqi military force Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), or Hashd al-Sha'abi, which has been protecting the Arab country's border from infiltration attempts by foreign-backed Syria Takfiri terrorists.

On Friday, sources in Iraq reported that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) struck targets within a base belonging to the Hashd al-Sha’abi on the Syrian border.

Similar attacks have been reported in Bukamal, where members of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah are allegedly helping the Syrian army to secure the crossing and its surrounding areas.

The Israeli attacks are considered an attempt by the regime to prop up Takfiri terrorist outfits that have been suffering heavy defeats in the region.

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