Iraq buys Israeli equipment to observe border with Syria
Basma Qaddour, Syrian News Station al-Watan, Dec 8 2009
Iraq’s Interior Ministry has bought from the US modern Israeli-made equipment worth $49m for observing part of borders with Syria and Iran. According to the US army’s statement issued yesterday, the equipment include towers with cameras and system for transmitting information. In this context, the Israeli Yediot Ahronot reported the transaction between Iraq and the US provides for buying equipment made in Israel. It added that the equipment are of high quality in technical field as Israel planted several equipment on the Lebanese borders and Gaza borders. “The US-Iraqi transaction is part of the US-Israeli military cooperation which is of benefit to Israel as its weapons are exported abroad,” the paper added. Under the US-Israeli military cooperation, the US has to help Israel promote its products in the countries with which Israel has no relations, especially the Arab countries. Yediot Ahronot alleged that Kuwaiti, Bahraini and Omani armies are using Israeli “Gore” guns on which US flag is printed. The US army claims that Iran backs gunmen who are attacking its forces, while the Iraqi government accuses Syria of providing shelter for leaders behind Baghdad-bombs. Damascus has asked the US to provide it with sophisticated systems to control borders with Iraq, but Washington rejected the demand because it fears that the systems would reach the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance.
130 arrested for slipping into Iraq from Syria
Aswat al-Iraq, Anbar, Dec 9 2009
Nearly 130 persons have been arrested throughout the past month along the Iraqi border for penetrating into the country from neighboring Syria, raising the number of infiltrators arrested this year along the Iraqi-Syrian border to 450, according to an informed source. “Those arrested have been taken to specialized courts. They are from Arab and foreign nationalities, in addition to Iraqis who were attempting to smuggle medicine, meat, illegal stuff, sheep and tobacco,” the commander of the border guard forces, Brig. Haqqi Ismail, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. Preliminary investigations have shown that some of those arrested were plotting terrorist attacks inside the country, the commander noted. Ramadi, the capital city of Anbar province, lies 110km west of Baghdad.
