An Anbar border guard told Al-Monitor, “There are smuggling operations but they are not as important as was declared.” The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “There are some groups smuggling prohibited substances and weapons.”
He indicated that a small number of smugglers had been killed and a large number arrested during the last period after monitoring their movements and detecting their method of transportation. “The security situation is stable and there is no danger to the security of the Iraqi border, since Iraqi forces have all matters related to security under control,” said the officer.
Syrian journalist Wael al-Nabwani pointed out to Al-Monitor that arms smuggling from Iraq may be divided into two categories: “The first is the international, organized smuggling by Iran, which has been supplying the Syrian regime with large quantities of weapons, as well as Shiite and Sunni jihadists ... The second is the smuggling by arms dealers of light weapons through unorganized operations that have eventually led to chaos in Syria.”
Nabwani said, “The parties that provided most support to the smuggling of arms were Maliki backed by Iran, followed by President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani and his government.” He elaborated: “The worst weapons exported to Syria are in the form of human bombs [suicide bombers].”
(Guns image via Shutterstock)
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