ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq uses drones and advanced surveillance systems as part of efforts to tighten security along its borders, particularly with Syria, as authorities move to expand aerial monitoring capabilities.
The Iraqi Border Guard Command told Rudaw on Sunday that unmanned aerial vehicles are playing a growing role in border control, as 15 drones are constantly used for surveillance.
"We have a contract with the defense industries commission to manufacture and purchase more drones," the command said, adding that the drones currently in use "can fly for over six hours and cover a monitoring range of 80 kilometers."
The command added that border security has reached unprecedented levels with extensive use of technology to monitor movement along frontier areas. "We have installed nearly 1,000 surveillance cameras along Iraq's borders that transmit footage to the national center, specifically along the sections bordering Syria. Therefore, border protection is now tighter than ever before," the command said.
In addition to surveillance technology, Iraq has continued constructing physical barriers along the Syria frontier. The Border Guard Command said "So far, approximately 350 kilometers of concrete wall have been constructed along the Syrian border, and the process is ongoing."
Iraq shares a 618-kilometer border with Syria, much of which has been fortified over the past two years with three-meter-high concrete walls, deep trenches, and watchtowers. Construction began amid ongoing security concerns and intensified following the collapse of Syria’s longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, raising fears of instability and possible infiltration by Islamic State (ISIS) militants and sleeper cells.