ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s interior ministry on Tuesday announced that further fortifications, including reconnaissance drones and trenches, have been added to its western border with Syria.

Baghdad has accelerated the fortification of its western border with Syria since December 2024, when former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was ousted by an Islamist-led rebel offensive, out of concerns for the infiltration of extremists into Iraq. 

“Natural barriers have been installed, in addition to 905 thermal cameras along the borders, and drones are being used in surveillance operations,” Miqdad Miri, head of relations and media at the interior ministry, said in a Baghdad press conference. 

Iraq has also completed a 380-kilometer concrete wall along the Syria border and has dug “a 729-kilometer-long trench and constructed 1,606 observation towers,” according to Miri. 

Baghdad and Damascus have particularly strengthened cooperation against rampant drug smuggling across the border, with both countries frequently carrying out joint operations against drug traffickers.

Joint operations against Islamic State (ISIS) militants have also taken place, with the jihadists particularly active in the Syrian desert, which stretches to the border with Iraq. 

“Twelve operations have been carried out in cooperation with Syria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to pursue [drug] traffickers and smugglers,” Miri said, noting that Syria “has received the largest share of this mutual cooperation.” 

In January, Iraq fortified its border with Syria amid heavy clashes between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The clashes led to serious instability in camps and prison facilities housing tens of thousands of veteran ISIS members and their families. 

Last month, Iraq reopened its Rabia border crossing with Syria following more than a decade of closure.