Iraq forms committee after Syria intercepts arms shipment bound for Hezbollah

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said Thursday it had formed a high-level committee, under the direction of PM Ali al-Zaidi, to investigate a Syrian operation that intercepted a shipment of weapons and missiles allegedly being smuggled across the Iraqi-Syrian border.

The command said the committee, made up of relevant agencies and specialists, had been tasked with determining the full details of the incident. Iraqi authorities would coordinate with the Syrian government “to know all the details related to this operation” and “hold those responsible accountable in a way that ensures the security and stability of the shared border and prevents any attempts to undermine national security,” the statement said.

Earlier Thursday, Syria’s Interior Ministry announced it had foiled an attempt to smuggle what it described as a shipment of “advanced weapons and missiles” across the Iraqi-Syrian border, allegedly intended for Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Syria’s state news agency SANA, citing an Interior Ministry source, said preliminary investigations found the seized shipment was meant to transit Syrian territory for Hezbollah.

The Iraqi announcement came hours after Syria disclosed the operation. Neither government specified where along the border the shipment was intercepted, who was moving it, or whether anyone had been arrested.

The interception also marks a reversal for the route. Under Bashar al-Assad, Syria was the main corridor for moving weapons to Hezbollah; the government that replaced him is now interdicting them.