Gauging the flow of Iraqi insurgents and illegal weapons into Syria is difficult, but the border was once hot with insurgent traffic in the opposite direction as foreign fighters flocked to attack US and Iraqi targets after the invasion.
“We think fighters linked to al-Qaida and some Sunni armed groups are sending fighters to Syria to participate in the fighting there as a kind of moral support,” said one senior Baghdad security official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to the media.
“Corrupt officials are working at the crossings in (the northern region of) Mosul and Anbar, so we can expect people to take advantage of this to smuggle weapons and fighters, but we do not think it is at a significant level,” he said.
Syria’s crisis creates a delicate balancing act for Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government as its neighbor’s revolt takes on an increasingly sectarian tone and Assad faces growing pressure from the Arab League and Western powers.
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