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Iraq–Syria border

The Iraqi–Syrian border is the border between Syria and Iraq and runs for a total length of 599 km (372 mi) across Upper Mesopotamia and the Syrian desert, from the tripoint with Jordan in the south-west to the tripoint with Turkey in the north-east.[1]

Description[edit]

The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Jordan at 33°22′29″N 38°47′37″E / 33.3747°N 38.7936°E / 33.3747; 38.7936, with the initial section being a continuation of the long straight line that forms the eastern section of the Jordan–Syria border. The boundary then shifts in the vicinity of the Euphrates river and the Al-Qa'im border crossing, proceeding northwards via a series of short straight lines, and then north-eastwards to the Tigris river. The Tigris then forms a short 3-4 mile section of the border up to the Turkish tripoint at the confluence with the Khabur river at 37°06′22″N 42°21′26″E / 37.1060°N 42.3572°E / 37.1060; 42.3572.

The border crossing, on the Al-Shaddadah–Mosul road, is the most northerly official crossing.

Rabia

The between Abu Kamal in Syria and Al Qa'im in Iraq. The crossing was reopened on 30 September 2019, after eight years of closure due to Syrian Civil War and Iraqi Civil War.[7] Since the reopening of the border crossing, the Iranian-backed militia Kata'ib Hezbollah, a group under the Popular Mobilization Units, has played an important military and security role on the Iraqi side of the border.[8][9]

Al-Qa'im border crossing

The , known in Syria as al-Tanf, is located in the Ar-Rutba District of the Al Anbar Governorate, close to the westernmost point of Iraq and the northeasternmost point of Jordan, in the desert Badia region. It serves as the main border checkpoint on the highway between Damascus and Baghdad. The al-Tanf checkpoint is on the Syrian side of the border, in Homs province. There are Palestinian refugee camps on both sides: the Al-Waleed camp on the Iraqi side and the Al Tanf camp on the Syrian side. The crossing was captured by ISIL in May 2015 and repelled in March 2016.[10]

Al Waleed border crossing

The is a pontoon bridge across the Tigris established by the Kurdistan Regional Government during the Syrian Civil War about 1 km (0.62 mi) downstream from the Iraqi–Syrian–Turkish tripoint, and just north of Faysh Khabur in Iraq.[11][12]

Semalka Border Crossing

There are three official border crossings between Syria and Iraq,[6] and one makeshift crossing:

Iraq–Syria relations

Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)

Kurdistan

Syrian Civil War

Kathy Gilsinan, , The Atlantic, 27 August 2014.

The Many Ways to Map the Islamic 'State'