BEIRUT: The Islamic State militant group has seized the last border crossing between Syria and Iraq controlled by the Syrian government after security forces withdrew, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Iraqi officials said Iraqi security forces had also withdrawn from their side of the crossing known as Al-Waleed in Iraq and Al-Tanf in Syria. The crossing is in Syria’s Homs province, where Islamic State on Wednesday seized the historic city of Palmyra from government forces. An Islamic State fighter contacted by Reuters confirmed the group had taken control of the crossing, which is a 240 km drive from Palmyra, known as Tadmur in Arabic.