Al Waleed border crossing
Coordinates: 33°26′00″N 38°56′15″E / 33.4332°N 38.9374°E
| Al Waleed border crossing نقطة الوليد الحدودية العراقية | |
|---|---|
| Carries | Pedestrians, vehicles, containers |
| Locale |
 Al-Tanf, Syria Al Waleed, Iraq |
| Official name | Al Waleed border crossing |
| Maintained by |
Iraq |
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Al Waleed border crossing (Arabic: نقطة الوليد الحدودية العراقية, also spelled al-Walid), known in Syria as al-Tanf is one of 3 official border crossings between Syria and Iraq.[1] Al Waleed is located in the Ar-Rutba District of the Al Anbar Governorate, close to the westernmost point of Iraq. It serves as the main border checkpoint on the highway between Damascus and Baghdad. The al-Tanf checkpoint is on the Syrian side of the border, in Homs province. The Al-Waleed Palestinian refugee camp is nearby.
In May 2015, the Islamic State militants captured the checkpoint, thus obtaining control over the full length of the Iraq-Syria border. In early August 2016, the Iraqi checkpoint was recaptured by pro-government Iraqi tribal militias backed by the U.S.-led forces.[2][3] In August 2016, the BBC published photographs taken in June that year[4] that it said showed British special forces soldiers apparently guarding the perimeter of the New Syrian Army's base at al-Tanf in Syria's Homs province.
References
- ↑ "Syrian border crossings". mapaction.org. September 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ↑ "Shia militia with international coalition liberate Waleed along Syrian border".
- ↑ "Iraqi tribal militia seizes strategic border area from Daesh".
- ↑ Sommerville, Quentin (8 August 2016). "UK special forces pictured on the ground in Syria". BBC. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
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