ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iraqi parliament’s security and defense committee hosted several of the country’s top security officials on Monday, discussing the latest developments in Syria and Turkey and their impact on Iraqi national security.

The meeting was attended by the heads of the Intelligence Service, National Security Service, the director of intelligence for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and the interior ministry's undersecretary for intelligence affairs.

“This hosting comes within the framework of monitoring security developments and taking the necessary measures to protect the country,” said the committee in a statement.

Committee member Ali al-Bandawi described Monday’s meeting as “important”, considering the recent developments in Syria and the recent agreement between the Damascus administration and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which could see the administration of Islamic State (ISIS) prisons and camps transferred into the hands of the state.

“The security and defense committee reviewed the military plans of the units along the entire border strip, and reviewed some secret security measures that we cannot disclose through the media,” Bandawi told The New Region, stressing that “There is confirmation that the border is completely and 100 percent secure and cannot be crossed at all.”

Two months after ousting the Bashar al-Assad regime, Syria's Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi last week signed a landmark agreement to officially integrate the Kurdish-led forces and all other civil and military institutions in northeast Syria into the Syrian state administration including “border crossings, airports, and oil and gas fields.”

The administration of the prisons in northeast Syria has not been explicitly mentioned in the agreement. Thousands of suspected ISIS members and their families are held in prisons and camps in northeast Syria, often referred to as a “ticking time bomb” by Iraqi authorities.

The presence of Turkish forces in Iraq was also discussed during the meeting, stressing the need for their withdrawal in light of the recent progress in the peace talks between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“In light of these developments, Ankara no longer has any justification for incursions into Iraqi territory. Therefore, the discussion was about how to close any gaps on the border strip, to prevent any Turkish entry or any suspicious movement across this border,” Bandawi added.

Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji earlier this month said that Baghdad wants the withdrawal of both the PKK and the Turkish army from the country’s territories, once the peace deal between the two sides has been finalized.