Iraqi troops seize smuggled Syrian arms

Iraqi border guards have seized weapons en route to Syria after clashes with smugglers, a military source in the Iraqi Ground Forces told Arabstoday. "An army force engaged a band of arms smugglers on Saturday, near Iraq’s border with Syria, 125 kilometres west of Mosul," the source said. “Troops seized a number of Kalashnikov light machine guns and PKM medium machine guns, after forcing armed elements across the border into Syria." The source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told how the operation was based on “accurate intelligence” with the seized arms being moved to a “secure area.” A similar attempt was foiled earlier by Iraqi Ground Forces on the border near the Rabia border crossing, 120 kilometres west of Mosul, after smugglers attempted to take heavy weaponry and other equipment into Syria. A 600-kilometre border separates Iraq and Syria, nearly half of which lies in the Sunni-majority Anbar Province, which has functioned as a base for Al-Qaeda in Iraq [AQI] in the past. A number of border crossings link the two neighbouring countries, the most vital being the Abou Kamal border crossing in Anbar and Rabia in Nineveh.