The US moved belatedly to tighten security over Iraq’s 1,300km border with Iran over the weekend, as six more of its servicemen were killed in attacks by forces opposed to the 11-month old occupation. The 19 legal crossing points between Iraq and the Islamic republic would be reduced to three and each traveller would have to produce a passport and be registered, Paul Bremer, the senior US administrator in Iraq, announced on Saturday. In addition, the number of Iraqi border guards would be doubled to 16,000, he said. The new regulations are a tacit admission that border procedures, loosened in part after the end of the war to encourage cross-border trade, are now too lax. Iraq’s borders measure some 3,600km in total and Mr Bremer has repeatedly asked Iran and Syria to do more to control what the coalition says is a flow of foreign militants into the country. Full Story
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