ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi border forces are ready to confront any threats to the country amid the recent violent escalations in neighboring Syria, the forces’ spokesperson told The New Region on Saturday, claiming that Iraq is not facing a security risk at the moment.

Syrian opposition armed groups, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a surprise offensive against the Syrian army in Aleppo and Idlib countryside on Wednesday, triggering one of the bloodiest escalations in the Syrian civil war in years.

The Syrian army on Saturday announced its withdrawal from key areas in Aleppo and Idlib, following reports that the groups had seized control of large parts of both cities.

"The Iraqi borders are fully fortified, and there is no truth to the news circulating about the existence of any security risks,” Haider al-Karkhi, spokesperson for the Iraqi border forces told The New Region.

“We are fully prepared for any threats,” he added.

Iraq has a 210-kilometer-long concrete wall along the borders with Syria, reinforced with trench, a sand barrier, and two different layers of barbed wires, according to Karkhi, adding that they are working on extending the wall.

“A new contract will be announced next week to build an additional 100 kilometers of the wall south and north of the Euphrates [river],” said the spokesperson.

Karkhi denied the reports claiming that Iraq has deployed an additional 10,000 guards to the Syrian border, noting that “advanced surveillance cameras” are used in monitoring the security of the borders.

Several other Iraqi officials have also announced that Iraqi forces are prepared to deal with any escalations from the borders with Syria, while warning of the dangers of the recent developments for the security and stability of the entire region.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji on Saturday stressed that the country has taken all precautionary measures to monitor and secure its borders amid the escalations in Syria, which he said are "far from the Iraqi borders.”

He also expressed hope that the Syrian government asserts full control over all its territories.

Muhsin al-Mandalawi, the Iraqi parliament's first deputy speaker, warned of the dangers of the recent movements of “terrorist” groups in Syria and their repercussions on Iraq and the wider region, accusing Israel of being behind the reactivation of the groups.

“The failure of the Zionist entity in Lebanon and Gaza and its inability to disband the unity of the arenas supporting Palestine pushed it into reactivating the terrorist groups card on Syrian territories,” read a statement from Mandalawi.

The lawmaker called on the commander-in-chief of the armed forces to declare readiness to secure Iraq's borders and also called on the parliament’s security and defense committee to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the recent developments.

Iraqi border forces commander Mohammed al-Su’aidi on Saturday said that Iraq’s borders with Syria were completely fortified and “impenetrable”, emphasizing the forces’ preparedness to counter any attacks.