Maybe this wasn't going to Iraq, but to some place else. Iran maybe?
Hmm. Well Urfa really isn't on the route
one would take to get to Iraq, and futhermore,
on the road from Urfa to the Iraqi border
there are frequent police searches of all vehicles.
(Travelling on the busses I have been stopped many times).
Getting to Iran would be more difficult still.
However there is a major road through the desert
from Urfa to Syria which only takes 2 hours to travel.
Of course, it is highly possible
that Syria was not the final destination