Al-Arabiya channel sources revealed the arrest of the main accused in the case of arms smuggling from Iraq to Syria, using a tanker designated for transporting oil, in a new development within the ongoing security investigations to reveal the parties that planned and financed the operation.
The sources said that Anbar Governorate Police arrested a number of other people on suspicion of their connection to the smuggling operation, while investigations are continuing to determine their roles and the parties that facilitated the movement of the tanker and its arrival to the border area.
According to the sources, armed militias recruited the tanker driver to transport the arms shipment to Syria, in exchange for sums of money, without revealing the value of the money or the identity of the parties involved in the recruitment process.
The arrests come after information about the formation of an official investigation committee headed by the Director of Iraqi Military Intelligence, to investigate the circumstances of the transfer of weapons through Syrian territory, which were said to be destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Iraqi sources had reported that the smuggling operation was carried out on July 7, after the weapons were hidden inside a tank usually used to transport Iraqi oil, in an attempt to pass the shipment through the Al-Walid border crossing without raising suspicions.
The committee in charge of the investigation went to the border crossing to collect surveillance recordings and review transit documents and vehicle movement, in addition to questioning workers and security personnel who were present during the timing of the tanker’s passage.
The Iraqi authorities are scheduled to coordinate with the Syrian side to verify the tanker’s route after it crosses the border, and reveal the parties that received it or secured its transportation within Syrian territory, leading to determining the final destination of the shipment.
The Iraqi government has not yet issued a detailed official statement regarding the arrests or the nature and size of the seized weapons, nor has the Syrian authorities or Hezbollah commented on the information circulating regarding the destination of the shipment.
Al-Walid crossing is one of the main land crossings between Iraq and Syria, and is of security and strategic importance due to its location on a land road linking the two countries, amid repeated accusations of using border routes to transport weapons, fighters, and prohibited materials.
The issue is gaining additional sensitivity in light of the pressure on Baghdad to control its borders and prevent the use of Iraqi lands as a corridor for transporting weapons to Syria and Lebanon, while investigations are expected to reveal the identity of the party that prepared the shipment, the source of the weapons, and the parties that provided logistical cover for its passage.
