RIYADH, 14 December 2003 — Over 4,000 people were caught trying to enter Saudi territory from Iraq in the past nine months, according Lt. Gen. Talal Mohsen Al-Anqawi, chief of the Border Guards.
The Kingdom shares an 830-km border with Iraq. The main border crossing between the two countries near Arar is currently closed.
“We have foiled many attempts by people who tried to infiltrate into the Kingdom from Iraq and vice versa,” Al-Anqawi told a news agency here yesterday.
A number of laser cameras have been installed along the Saudi-Iraqi border to monitor the movement of people and to detain would-be infiltrators.
He said other Gulf states also stepped up security along their borders.
Al-Anqawi did not specify the nationalities of the infiltrators. He added that border guards also arrested 1,000 smugglers and confiscated three tons of hashish between March and October this year. They also seized a huge cache of arms, ammunitions and explosives at the Iraqi and Yemeni borders.
A report published recently said that a number of terrorists are believed to have infiltrated from across the border areas or are hiding in hostile border territories.
