Iraq moves army brigade to border with Syria

Baghdad, July 24 (Xinhua-ANI): Iraqi military authorities moved an army brigade from southern Iraq to border areas with Syria in Iraq's western province of Anbar, an official television reported on Tuesday.

"An Iraqi army brigade has been ordered to move from its base in Dhi-Qar province to Iraqi-Syrian border to enhance security measures," the state-run channel of Iraqia quoted a source in Dhi- Qar province as saying.

The brigade , which will arrive successively in western Iraq, is tasked with scrutinizing the identities of all Iraqis who return from Syria to detain those who are wanted according to arrest warrants issued earlier by the Iraqi judiciary, the source said.

Last week, the Iraqi government urged its citizens living in Syria to return homeland after the increase of killings and attacks against them.

The move came after the country's authorities reportedly received a total of 23 bodies of Iraqi citizens, including two journalists, who were killed during the ongoing violence in Iraq's western neighbor of Syria.

Earlier in the day, Iraq said it has received the first batch of Syrian refugees after a previous decision by Baghdad central government not to receive them because of the poor logistics and security situation in the country.

"We have some 60 refugees crossed the border this morning through al-Qaim border crossing point," a security source from Anbar province said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Syria has been wracked by bombings and violence against civilians since March 2011, when anti-government protests began. The unrest has claimed the lives of thousands of people, including large numbers of security forces. (Xinhua-ANI)