SHALAMCHEN, Iraq - Iraq began to reopen its borders with Iran and Syria on Sunday, three days after they closed as part of an operation to crack down on sectarian and insurgent violence, officials said. Trucks and cars carrying civilian travelers and freight were crossing the Iranian frontier normally at Shalamchen, an overland border crossing near the southern Iraqi city of Basra, following the decision.‘We received orders today from Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki to open the border posts from 6:00 am (0300 GMT) this morning,’ General Rahdi Mohassen of the Iraqi border force told AFP at the scene.
A senior security official in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to brief the media, confirmed that two main routes into Syria and four into Iran had reopened.