Iraqi smugglers killed by Daesh in Syria: Army source

By Suleiman al-Qubaisi

BAGHDAD

At least 20 Iraqi smugglers were killed in an ambush by Daesh terrorists on Wednesday on the Syrian side of the two countries' shared border, according to an Iraqi military source.

Army Colonel Waleed al-Dulaimi said the smugglers had attempted to drive a convoy of trucks from Syrian territory into the Al-Qaim district of Iraq's western Anbar province.

"But the convoy was waylaid by Daesh terrorists who killed all the smugglers and seized all the trucks," al-Dulaimi told Anadolu Agency, going on to point out that the slain smugglers had hailed from Anbar.

It remains unclear what cargo -- if any -- the trucks had been carrying.

According to al-Dulaimi, Daesh still maintains control over some Syrian territory near the Iraqi border.

Late last year, the Iraqi authorities announced the "total liberation" of the country's roughly 600-kilometer border with Syria from terrorist elements.