BAGHDAD, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Mohammed al-Abbasi said Tuesday that the country's armed forces are fully prepared to defend Iraq's borders, citing concerns about potential Islamic State (IS) penetration from neighboring Syria.
"Our valiant army stands as an impenetrable barrier against any threat and will not allow the spread of any evil or danger, including attempts by IS remnants fleeing from Syria," al-Abbasi said in a statement, calling Iraq's security a "red line."
Meanwhile, Army Chief of Staff Abdul Amir Yarallah conducted a field inspection along the Syrian border, where he ordered intensified intelligence and security measures to counter terrorist threats, according to a statement by the Iraqi Defense Ministry.
In a related development, the Iraqi paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces on Tuesday announced in a statement that its security forces arrested a high-ranking IS commander who had infiltrated from Syria into the Mosul desert. The detainee was described as a key supervisor of IS cells in both Iraq and Syria.
The security alert came amid renewed instability in northeastern Syria, where the Syrian army said Monday that it has taken control of the Shaddadi area and its prison holding thousands of IS suspects in northeastern Hasakah province after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported a loss of control over the facility amid escalating clashes.
The army said it has secured the prison complex and immediately launched search operations to recapture escaped inmates, whom it accused the SDF of releasing during recent clashes.
The SDF said Tuesday it was "compelled" to withdraw from the Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, leaving thousands of families linked to IS militants unguarded and raising fears of a militant resurgence. ■
