Iraqi Brigadier General Saad Maan told the Associated Press the country closed its border with Jordan to fight the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). The terrorist group controls the land between the crossing point of Trebil and Baghdad.
The Jordanian government also “urged passengers and drivers willing to travel to Iraq not to head to the border crossings.” Iraqi officials hope the closure cuts off the taxes ISIS places on any cargo trucks that drive “through their territory.”
“Part of this closure will be about reducing the commercial traffic in order to create conditions for surveillance and target acquisitions,” explained Paul Stanley, who is in charge of a private security company. “Commercial traffic has been diverted, and the [Iraq] Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the closure is also linked to the ongoing operations in Anbar.”
ISIS continues to drain Jordan’s economy as they expand their Caliphate in Syria and Iraq. The government closed its border with Syria in 2014 after ISIS took over the area. Now, this will deliver even more trouble for the economy.
In April, three suicide bombings near the border crossing killed five Iraqi soldiers. The attackers originated from Belgium, Senegal, and France. ISIS took credit for the bombings, which damaged the prime trading route between the two countries.
“There are hundreds of Iraqi trucks stuck between the Trebil crossing and the Jordanian side that were prevented from entering the kingdom due to the closing of the crossing,”stated Farhan Mohammad, an Anbar province councilman.
This closure means Jordan’s only decent land crossings are with Saudi Arabia and Israel.
original source: http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/07/17/isis-forces-iraq-to-close-border-with-jordan/