Iraq Kurds dig trench on Syria border to block militants

 Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region is digging a trench along itsborder with Syria to prevent the infiltration of militants and smuggling from thewar-racked country, officials say."The trench is designed to prevent the infiltration of members of terrorist groupsand stop smugglers," Halkurd Mullah Ali, the spokesman for the Kurdish region'speshmerga security ministry, told AFP.Smugglers "began operating in these areas because the Syrian authorities lostcontrol of them, and these areas became insecure," Ali said.The trench is 17 kilometres (10 miles) long, two metres (yards) deep and threemetres wide, and is "part of an Iraqi (federal) government strategy" to protectinthe country's 600 kilometre border with Syria."We arrested terrorists and smugglers trying to infiltrate into Kurdistan," saidpeshmerga Brigadier General Hashem Yeti, adding that there were "requests fromthe people of the border areas to prevent the infiltration operations, whichrepresents a threat to them."But the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a powerful Syrian Kurdish organisation,condemned the trench as an attempt to blockade the country's Kurds, and closed theborder crossing with Iraqi Kurdistan in protest.Hundreds of people have been waiting to cross since the border was closed onSaturday.