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Iraq’s military chief said on Tuesday that the country plans to reopen a strategic border crossing with Syria (al Qaim - closed in 2013) in the coming days... Washington has expressed concern about Tehran’s ambitions to extend its weapons and military support to regional allies.

SNIPPET: "Iraqi soldiers foiled a potentially deadly suicide attack today at the border crossing at Al Qaim in western Anbar province. From Aswat al-Iraq (Voices of Iraq): “A force from the 28th infantry division managed to defuse a car bomb and to kill its driver in al-Qaim, Anbar province,” said the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The suicide driver carries the Kuwaiti nationality, and had on his possession a fake ID issued from Baiji,” the statement added. “The car was loaded with three tons of Chlorine and C4 as well as other chemical materials,” it added. Having closely...

American helicopters flying from Iraq landed inside Syria yesterday and dropped special forces who killed eight people, the Damascus government said last night, as Washington admitted it had targeted "foreign fighters." Syria warned that it held the US "wholly responsible for this act of aggression and all its repercussions". It described the dead as Syrian civilians, five of them members of the same family. Syrian state television reported that the attack was against a farm near Abu Kamal, five miles from the Iraqi border. Doctors in nearby al-Sukkariya said another seven people were taken to hospital with bullet wounds.

The US airborne raid into Syrian territory marks the culmination of years of frustration with Damascus’s reluctance to police its own border with Iraq, the main point of entry for foreign jihadists. Since the 2003 invasion, Syria, fearing that it could be the next target for regime change, has allowed Islamic militants to cross its desert borders freely. Significantly, the village of al-Sukkari farm, which US forces raided, is just over the border from the Iraqi city of al-Qaim, which, since 2003, has been a key funnelling point for jihadists entering Iraq on the so-called rat run to the Sunni...

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (Feb. 14, 2006) -- Inter-service rivalry is almost a tradition in the armed services, Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen have all, at one time or another, joked about believed deficiencies in other services. Nothing is truer than the rivalry between the Marine Corps and the Air Force. Conflicts in the 21st Century, however, have yielded more opportunities for service members of all branches to work together toward a common goal. The western Al Anbar province of Iraq is no exception. Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew D. Pierce, a military working dog handler with the 62nd Security...

Depkafile is reporting that internal Syrian communications channels report Syrian “Desert Guards” border units fought US Marines who crossed into Syria at a point west of al Qaim.

AL QA’IM, Iraq (Sept. 20, 2005) -- In February, the Marines and sailors of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team-2 deployed to the relatively lawless area of Iraq, Al Qa’im, about 20 miles from the Iraqi-Syrian border. Seven months and three major operations later, the Marines and Sailors of Task Force 3/2 celebrated the accomplishments of their deployment and their return home to the United States. Lt. Col. Tim Mundy, the commanding officer of 3/2, explained his battalion’s mission here in Western Iraq. “Our mission was to disrupt and interdict insurgent activity out here in the west. We...

Last week, the Washington Post reported that the border city of Qaim was overrun by al Qaeda jihadis, who soon afterward declared it the "Islamic Republic of Qaim" and proceeded to implement Shariah law. These claims have been under no uncertain terms refuted by the Marines: Maj. Neil Murphy, a spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force, told Marine Corps Times that reports detailing an all-out al-Qaeda takeover in Qaim were a “crock of crap.” “Sure, anyone can hang up a poster. That does not mean anything,” Murphy wrote in an e-mail response to questions. “We have a battalion there. [The...

HADITHA, Iraq (Aug. 10, 2005) -- Insurgents in the Haditha region of the Al Anbar province were met by a group of unfamiliar faces Aug. 5 when the Marines of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment arrived in support of Operation Quick Strike. The Marines traveled about 100 miles southeast of their area of operation in Al Qa’im overnight to help 3rd Bn., 25th Marines, clear the towns of Haqliniyah, Bani Dahri and Barwanah just south of the city of Haditha. The task force conducting Quick Strike included many different units task organized for the mission. Each unit, including those from...

Baghdad, 28 June (AKI) - Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been seen handing out money to evacuee families in the small town of al-Karabla, near al-Qaim on the Syrian border, according to a message posted to various Islamist websites, signed by 'Muhib al-Faruq'. The message is headed "Allah is great: an urgent message from a brother from the town of al-Karabla who swears by what he says". In the message, al-Faruq says he has spoken with the "brother" from al-Karabla, who claims al-Qaeda has given some 700 dollars per household to 85 families whose houses have been destroyed...

Al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had fled the country after being seriously injured in a U.S. missile attack, a British newspaper reported on Sunday, quoting a senior commander of the Iraqi insurgency. Al-Zarqawi has shrapnel lodged in his chest and may have been moved to Iran, The Sunday Times newspaper reported, adding his supporters may try to move him on to another country for an operation. The paper quoted an unnamed insurgency commander as saying the Jordanian-born militant was wounded three weeks ago when a U.S. missile hit his convoy near the northwestern Iraqi city of al Qaim....

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq’s most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (search ), has been seriously wounded, according to a doctor who claims to have treated him last week. The doctor told an Iraqi reporter in the western city of Ramadi that Zarqawi was bleeding heavily when he was brought into hospital on Wednesday. After treating his wounds the doctor tried to persuade him to remain, but the Jordanian-born terrorist’s minders drove him away. The claim was supported yesterday by a senior commander in the Iraqi resistance who had been to Ramadi to investigate the report. The doctor, who refused to...

IRAQ’S most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has been seriously wounded, according to a doctor who claims to have treated him last week. The doctor told an Iraqi reporter in the western city of Ramadi that Zarqawi was bleeding heavily when he was brought into hospital on Wednesday. After treating his wounds the doctor tried to persuade him to remain, but the Jordanian-born terrorist’s minders drove him away. The claim was supported yesterday by a senior commander in the Iraqi resistance who had been to Ramadi to investigate the report. According to the doctor, Zarqawi was escorted into Ramadi general...

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - 0512iraq From their rooftops, Syrians in frontier towns watched airstrikes and battles on the other side of the Iraqi border, where U.S. forces are fighting insurgents in an offensive raging uncomfortably close to Syria's doorstep. Rawaf Hamad, a farmer in the village of Showaiyeh, said he was shaken awake at 3 a.m. Thursday by shelling about a mile away in the Iraqi town of al-Qaim. He heard the sound of warplanes "There was heavy gunfire that lasted until 6 a.m. today," the 24-year-old said. Besides unnerving border residents, the fighting is politically unsettling for the Syrian...

Globalterroralert.com (4/14/05): Sources in the Arabian Peninsula are now claiming that one of the four Al-Qaida suicide bombers who attacked a U.S. base in the western Iraqi town of Al-Qaim on April 11 was Saudi national Hadi bin Mubarak al-Qahtani. According to a statement marking his death, Hadi had grown "eager to martyr himself" after witnessing the example of the "19 heroes" and their "holy attack that demolished the foolish infidel Americans and caused many young men to awaken from their deep sleep." Click to view English translation c/o Globalterroralert.com

BAGHDAD – The United States has been fighting what officials term a silent war with Syria which killed at least five soldiers over the weekend. U.S. officials said U.S. Marines have deployed along the Syrian border to stop the flow of insurgents and equipment to Iraq. They said marines have engaged with both Sunni insurgents as well as some Syrian security personnel along the border in clashes that have intensified over the last few weeks. The U.S. military presence – increased by more than a third over the last two months – was said to be focused on the western...

  Wednesday, June 11, 2003   Home Page - Advertise - DEBKA-Net-Weekly - Customized Service Enlarge International    Bin Laden Terror  Terrorism  Intelligence Regional   Israel  Middle East  Americas  Persian Gulf  Asia  China  Europe  Russia   Al Qaim Clings to Its WMD SecretsFrom DEBKAfile War Diary - Day 24 of Iraq War, April 12, 2003April 13, 2003, 11:52 PM (GMT+02:00) Since the Saddam Hussein statues were torn down around Iraq, many Israelis have stopped carrying their gas masks despite almost daily exhortations by defense minister Shaul Mofaz to keep them close and not dismantle their sealed rooms since the...

The United States has bolstered its military presence near the Iraqi- Syrian border. U.S. officials said Central Command has ordered a buildup of assets in western Iraq. They said the buildup is centered at Al Rutba and includes M1A1 main battle tanks, AH-64A attack helicopters and A-10 ground-support fighter-jets. The U.S. move aims to prevent the escape of Iraqi leaders and nonconventional military assets to Syria. They said U.S. forces will also ensure that Arab foreign volunteers based in Syria will be captured as soon as they enter Iraq. Officials have assured Syria that the military buildup is not meant...

U.S. concentrating forces near Syrian border <!****************************Cut and Paste Headline Above*****************> SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COMWednesday, April 16, 2003 <!********************Cut and Paste Article Below********************>The United States has bolstered its military presence near the Iraqi- Syrian border. U.S. officials said Central Command has ordered a buildup of assets in western Iraq. They said the buildup is centered at Al Rutba and includes M1A1 main battle tanks, AH-64A attack helicopters and A-10 ground-support fighter-jets. The U.S. move aims to prevent the escape of Iraqi leaders and nonconventional military assets to Syria. They said U.S. forces will also ensure that Arab foreign volunteers...

Since the Saddam Hussein statues were torn down around Iraq, many Israelis have stopped carrying their gas masks despite almost daily exhortations by defense minister Shaul Mofaz to keep them close and not dismantle their sealed rooms since the danger is not over. His concern has draw sneers from some army veterans and pundits, making him the butt of jokes about “overreaction”. Some information about the sinister tools of death that are believed cached in remote al Qaim up against the Syrian border might lead to a better appreciation of the peril. However, Israeli officials are keeping what is known...