Claiming victory, Iraq, Jordan reopen border crossing

By Haydar Hadi

BAGHDAD/AMMAN (AA) - The Trebil border crossing linking Iraq to Jordan will be reopened after three years of closure, according to a joint statement issued by both countries Wednesday.

“Now that the Iraqi armed forces have rescued their country’s sovereignty [by defeating the Daesh terrorist group], both governments have decided to reopen the crossing with a view to strengthening ties between the two countries and peoples,” the statement read.

The terrorist group recently lost two of its main strongholds in Iraq -- Mosul and Tal Afar -- following extensive campaigns by the Iraqi army and a U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition.

Asserting that the international highway linking Jordan and Iraq had now been cleared of Daesh elements, Wednesday’s joint statement went on to predict that the opening of the crossing would bring “commercial and humanitarian benefits for both countries”.

Named after a nearby village of the same name in Iraq’s western Anbar province, the Trebil crossing is the primary border terminal linking Iraq and Jordan.

In 2014, the crossing was shut after Daesh overran large territories in northern and western Iraq.

*Ali Murat Alhas contributed to this report from Ankara