ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi border forces arrested 44 Asian nationals who attempted to enter the country illegally through shared borders between Turkey and Iran, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, as Baghdad seeks to tighten its security grip over the country.
The migrants were detained while attempting to cross into Iraq illegally through Duhok, which borders Turkey, and Wasit, which borders Iran, according to a statement published on the Interior Ministry's official page.
"The Border Forces continue carrying out their security duties to protect Iraq's borders and prevent all infiltration and smuggling attempts," the ministry said, adding the command carried out the arrests following directives from Senior Deputy Interior Minister Hussein al-Awadi.
The latest arrests come as Iraqi authorities tighten security along Iraq's borders to curb illegal migration and human smuggling networks.
Iraq's Border Forces are deployed along the parameters of its 3,630 kilometer border with six neighboring countries. The force operates through six regional commands and 20 border brigades tasked with securing Iraq's borders with Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
In a similar event, in June Kirkuk police told Rudaw that more than 650 foreign nationals, most of them Pakistani, Afghan, and Bangladeshi citizens, had been arrested since the beginning of 2026 for entering the province illegally.
Police said many of the migrants had first entered the Kurdistan Region through irregular routes before attempting to travel to Baghdad and other central and southern provinces.
Under Iraqi residency law, parties who enter the country illegally or fail to comply with deportation orders can face up to one year in prison or fines ranging from 500,000 to one million Iraqi dinars (about $333 to $666).
