ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq uses drones and advanced surveillance systems as part of efforts to tighten security along its borders, particularly with Syria, as authorities move to expand aerial monitoring capabilities.
The Iraqi Border Guard Command told Rudaw on Sunday that unmanned aerial vehicles are playing a growing role in border control, as 15 drones are constantly used for surveillance.
"We have a contract with the defense industries commission to manufacture and purchase more drones," the command said, adding that the drones currently in use "can fly for over six hours and cover a monitoring range of 80 kilometers."
The command added that border security has reached unprecedented levels with extensive use of technology to monitor movement along frontier areas. "We have installed nearly 1,000 surveillance cameras along Iraq's borders that transmit footage to the national center, specifically along the sections bordering Syria. Therefore, border protection is now tighter than ever before," the command said.
In addition to surveillance technology, Iraq has continued constructing physical barriers along the Syria frontier. The Border Guard Command said "So far, approximately 350 kilometers of concrete wall have been constructed along the Syrian border, and the process is ongoing."
Iraq shares a 618-kilometer border with Syria, much of which has been fortified over the past two years with three-meter-high concrete walls, deep trenches, and watchtowers. Construction began amid ongoing security concerns and intensified following the collapse of Syria’s longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, raising fears of instability and possible infiltration by Islamic State (ISIS) militants and sleeper cells.
In November, Brigadier General Haider al-Karkhi, media director of Iraq’s Border Guard Command, told Rudaw, that in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), they were continuing “to erect a wall from the Rabia border [in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province] to Peshkhabur [in the Kurdistan Region’s northern Duhok province]." He added that the objective is "to control the entire border of the Region."
Large sections of the wall, including the stretch from Rabia in Nineveh province to near al-Qaim in western Anbar, have already been completed. Iraqi authorities have stated they intend to continue construction until the entire Syrian border is secured. The 40-kilometer segment between Peshkhabur and Rabia, starting from the Turkish border, forms a key part of this effort.
Following Assad’s collapse, Iraq closed several border crossings with Syria. Al-Karkhi said authorities also opened a new control centre in Baghdad, from where the borders are monitored via 975 thermal cameras and drones.
As of mid-September, the Border Guard Command reported that nearly 99 percent of Iraq’s borders were under camera surveillance, with drones conducting daily patrols, particularly in fortified areas. These measures also aim to curb cross-border smuggling, including narcotics such as Captagon.
Beyond Syria, Iraq shares extensive borders with neighboring countries: approximately 1,420 kilometers with Iran and 335 kilometers with Turkey, all of which are included in the country’s broader border security strategy.
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