By Anas al-Bar | 2024-02-14

As Iraq works to maintain and improve the security of its border with Syria, Iran and its proxies continuously undermine these efforts as they carry on using illegal crossings to smuggle weapons and drugs.

Over a period of some years, Iraq has made a concerted effort to fortify its roughly 600km-long border with Syria, erecting a set of barriers to curb smuggling and infiltration attempts.

On January 28, construction was completed on a towering cement barrier in the vicinity of the Syrian village of al-Baghouz, where the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) made its last stand.

Al-Baghouz is in Deir Ezzor's Albu Kamal district.

The cement barrier, 12km in length, provides additional security in an area where Iran-aligned militias frequently engage in illegal smuggling activities.

With the wall, the border strip between al-Qaim in Iraq and Albu Kamal in Syria has become fortified, Iraqi border force commander Lt. Gen. Muhammad Sukkar al-Saeedi told state television.

"This is the best type of barrier," he said, noting that thermal cameras have been installed along the barrier to provide an additional layer of security, along with guard posts and checkpoints.

This has put a virtual stop to the pervasive smuggling and infiltration carried out between villages in this area that threaten the country's security, he said.

But a full halt to this type of illicit activity is difficult to achieve, given the control Iran-aligned militias wield over illegal crossings that serve as transit points for drugs and weapons, observers told Al-Fassel.

The network of Iranian proxies uses its strong influence in the region to evade accountability for its activities, which undermine the Iraqi authorities' efforts to secure the borders, they said.

Cutting off smuggling routes

The border situation "is better than before, but there is still a strong need to impose stricter measures to disrupt smuggling," said military expert Jalil Khalaf.

"Ports not controlled by the state must be closed, and secret smuggling routes and lines must be cut off," he told Al-Fassel.

"We must put pressure on all groups that are trying to tamper with border security and exploit it to flood the country with drugs and harm its stability and sovereignty," Khalaf said.

Iran-backed Kataib Hizbullah, which is widely deployed on both sides of the border, directs most of the smuggling operations, and controls unofficial crossings -- notably al-Sekak, in the Deir Ezzor border town of al-Hari, he said.

This serves as a vital military and economic artery for the militia, with most of the Iranian weapons and fighter reinforcements flowing through it to Syria.

Contraband, smuggled goods and fuel also pass through it, Khalaf said.

The crossing is heavily guarded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and militiamen from other Iran-aligned militias, who maintain a base of operations there to direct their activities, he said.

Kataib Hizbullah also controls several other illegal crossings, he said, which divert traffic and trade away from the official al-Qaim-Albu Kamal border entry point.

These are still being used as corridors for smuggling weapons from Iran to Syria and Lebanon via Iraq in coordination with IRGC Quds Force units 190 and 400, according to some reports.

According to intelligence sources, Unit 190 has in recent years transferred thousands of tons of weapons to Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, Hizbullah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Unit 400 is engaged in shipping weapons and has been accused of assassinating Iraqi journalists and activists who are opposed to Iran's agenda.

Militias drag down the economy

As part of its efforts to curb the illicit activities of Kataib Hizbullah, the United States on November 17 imposed sanctions on five prominent Iraqi leaders of the group who were involved in smuggling weapons across the border with Syria.

The five also were accused of training fighters and directing, financing and supporting the militia's networks.

Kataib Hizbullah and other Iranian or Iran-aligned militias collaborate with the Syrian regime in smuggling drugs, notably Captagon, from Syria to Iraq and across the region.

The value of this illicit trade exceeds $10 billion annually -- a huge revenue stream and a source of concern for governments struggling to prevent the flow of drugs.

Iraqi authorities in March 2023 stopped the passage of three million Captagon pills through the al-Qaim crossing with Syria, media outlets said.

The smuggling of goods into Syria, such as subsidized medicines, gasoline, clothing and electrical appliances, harms the Iraqi economy, and costs the state treasury millions of dollars annually.

Overall, smuggling between Iraq and Syria generates at least $50 million a month for the militias, some of which is collected in fees and tolls imposed on trucks transporting smuggled goods.

These can range between $200 and $1,500 per truck.

"People are fed up with the militias draining their economy," Syrian Tribal Council spokesman Mudar al-Asaad told Al-Fassel.

"The livelihood crises are exacerbated by Iran's proxies, who have usurped the livelihoods of local residents," he added.

The militias also threaten the security of border towns, he said.

Their continuous smuggling of weapons has turned these towns into battlefields, he added, while their storage of weapons in residential neighborhoods has turned civilians into human shields.