Many defense lines have been established by the Iraqi authorities on the Syrian border, starting with barbed wire fences and anti-tank trenches up to 3 meters wide, as well as a concrete wall that includes numerous thermal surveillance cameras and observation points for the border guard, and in addition, many military forces equipped with modern weapons have been deployed, and the Popular Army Forces (Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi militia), and its variety of militias.

Baghdad strengthened these defense lines after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria by an alliance of armed factions led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is classified as a terrorist organization in the United States, Europe, and other countries.

The fall of Assad, Baghdad's former ally, has raised concerns In Iraq, and days after the collapse of his regime and his flight to Moscow, an Iraqi security delegation led by the head of Iraqi intelligence, Hamid al-Shatari, traveled to Damascus and met with the head of the new Syrian government, Ahmed al-Sharaa.