[Rudaw] Iraq's borders with Syria remain "calm and secure," a high-ranking Iraqi border official said Tuesday, despite reports from regional and Syrian media outlets that Syria's army has entered a state of alert and is deploying units along the country's borders with Iraq amid security concerns.
"The situation along [Iraq's] border with Syria is normal, and the movements on the Syrian side to secure the borders are taking place with our knowledge and in coordination with us," Lieutenant General Mohammed Abdul-Wahab Sakr al-Saeedi, commander of the Border Guard Forces, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).
He further emphasized that "there is no current threat on the borders, and there is an exchange of information and coordination with the Syrian border forces."
The remarks follow reports from regional outlets that Syria's defense ministry has ordered Alert Level C and deployed units along the Iraqi border, amid a widening conflict between the US and Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and its affiliated gangs across the region, including in Iraq.
"Our units are holding the border firmly, and the Syrian side has not occupied the border posts so far," Saeedi said.
The Iraq-Syria border, which stretches approximately 600 kilometers, has been at the forefront of numerous conflicts in recent years, most notably the war against the Islamic State
 ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS), which saw krazed killer gunnies exploit the border's vulnerability to establish a so-called caliphate spanning the two countries.
The border has also seen several gangs build underground tunnels to bypass it, transiting personnel, weapons, and narcotics across the frontier.
Iraq foils balloon-borne Captagon smuggling attempts launched from Syria
[Rudaw] Iraqi border forces have seized 4.5 million Captagon pills during the first six months of the year after foiling attempts to smuggle the narcotics into the country using balloons launched from Syria, according to data provided to Rudaw by the Iraqi Border Guard Command.
The figures show the pills were intended to be flown into the deserts of Anbar and Najaf provinces using GPS-equipped balloons, marking what officials say is a growing smuggling tactic adopted after the fall of the former Syrian regime in December 2024 and tighter security measures along the Iraqi-Syrian border.
"Most of the Captagon shipments transported by balloons and intercepted by border guards are launched from the Syrian border toward Iraq. In July alone, more than 4,000 Captagon pills were seized after traffickers attempted to smuggle them by balloon into the Rutba desert in Anbar province," Saad Ghazi, head of the security committee at the Anbar Provincial Council, told Rudaw's Hastyar Qadir on Tuesday.
The seizures highlight the evolving methods used by regional drug trafficking networks as Iraq continues to serve as both a destination and a transit route for Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine-type stimulant. Iraqi authorities have intensified anti-narcotics operations in recent years, expanding cross-border cooperation with neighboring countries to disrupt trafficking networks.
A senior Iraqi border official, speaking to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, said, "The balloons carrying Captagon are usually released during the day and fly at a height of approximately 200 meters. They are equipped with GPS devices so drug traffickers can later locate and retrieve them after they land," the official said.
"Our border guard units immediately bring the balloons down whenever they detect them, preventing the shipments from reaching their intended destinations," the source added.
According to the official, part of the Captagon seized inside Iraq is intended for the domestic market, while traffickers attempt to move the rest onward to other countries, including Gulf states.
This year, Iraq has stepped up efforts to combat Captagon trafficking.
In June, Iraqi and Syrian anti-narcotics authorities dismantled an international trafficking network in joint operations inside Syria, seizing around 200 kilograms of narcotics destined for Iraq. Syrian authorities said the operation also led to the confiscation of 800,000 Captagon pills. At the time, officials said joint Iraqi-Syrian operations had seized more than five million Captagon pills since the start of 2026.
Authorities in Iraq have also carried out a series of domestic operations in recent months. In July, Iraqi security forces seized 51 kilograms of Captagon pills and arrested two suspected traffickers in separate raids. Days earlier, military intelligence arrested a suspected drug dealer in Baghdad who was allegedly carrying 14,000 Captagon pills.
Captagon was produced on an industrial scale in Syria under the rule of former president Bashar al-Assad, with regional and international officials long accusing figures linked to the former Syrian government of facilitating the trade. Although Assad's government has fallen, Iraqi officials say clandestine production and smuggling networks remain active across the border, forcing traffickers to adopt new methods to evade tighter security.
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