The Commander of the 20th Division, Brig. Gen. Atheer al-Rubaie, said the division’s engineering department was continuing work on fortifications at the border, Iraqi News Agency (INA) said.

The Spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief, Maj. Gen. Yehia Rasool, said Iraqi forces were fortifying the border, adding Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi had ordered a firm response to any incursion on Iraqi territory.

"The armed forces are ready to deter any attempts by terrorist gangs to approach the Iraq-Syrian borders,” Rasool told INA.

Kadhimi visited the border at Sinjar in January where he held meetings on the Iraqi army and security forces’ preparation in the face of a potential attack.

Rasool said security forces had taken measures to secure the border following the attack and associated clashes last month at a prison in northeast Syria that holds thousands of Islamic State (ISIS) militants.

The major general said the border was secure with thermal cameras, barbed wire and a trench.

The Iraqi army said on January 14 a 3-m deep trench had been completed on the country’s border with Syria, secured with drones and thermal cameras.

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