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Militants Again Flow From Syria to Iraq

Border security troubled by funding cuts

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted May 11, 2009 11:32 AM CDT
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(Newser) – For years, the threat of fighters entering Iraq through Syria seemed to have faded—but recent attacks show the al-Qaeda in Iraq pipeline is pumping again, the Washington Post reports. Soon after Iraqi elections, the number of militants entering via Syria had dropped to just a few, said an official. Now, that number is up to 20 a month, he said, amid worsening border security.

The threat at the border has been exacerbated by a fuel shortage; lower oil prices have hurt the Iraqi budget, driving the government to slice border patrol fuel funds. On Friday, two days after US officials arrived in Syria for talks, President Obama renewed sanctions against the country, saying it backed terrorism and was threatening progress in Iraq. US military officials aren't sure, however, whether Syrian leaders are actually aiding militants.

An Iraqi policeman inspects children's clothes found at the scene of a suicide bombing in Baghdad's Kazimiyah neighborhood, Iraq, Friday, April 24, 2009.
An Iraqi policeman inspects children's clothes found at the scene of a suicide bombing in Baghdad's Kazimiyah neighborhood, Iraq, Friday, April 24, 2009.   (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
A child who got lost and was found unhurt at the site of a suicide bombing in Baghdad sleeps as her grandmother, who had just found her, cries in the hospital April 24, 2009.
A child who got lost and was found unhurt at the site of a suicide bombing in Baghdad sleeps as her grandmother, who had just found her, cries in the hospital April 24, 2009.   (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
A man arrives at a hospital south of Baghdad, Iraq, after being wounded in a suicide bombing Saturday, April 11, 2009.
A man arrives at a hospital south of Baghdad, Iraq, after being wounded in a suicide bombing Saturday, April 11, 2009.   (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
justme
May 11, 2009 10:39 AM CDT
Obama promised them that the US was leaving. Why not start back in? I guess they didn't catch the little "maybe" in his statement. I hope US troops stay long enough to do it right.

 
Iraq • Syria • border control • sanctions • militant • border • Iraq war • al-Qaeda in Iraq • President Obama

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