Iraq closes main border crossing with Jordan for security reasons

Iraqi authorities closed on Thursday its main border crossing point with Jordan indefinitely for security reasons, an Iraqi government spokesman said.

"The closure of Trebil crossing point with Jordan would be temporary," Brigadier General Saad Maan, the Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman, told reporters.

Maan said the decision came to deprive the Islamic State (IS) funds from truck drivers who are forced by the extremist militants to pay a tax on each cargo crossing from Jordan to Iraq.

The border closure also came days after the security forces and allied paramilitary militias launched a major offensive to free key cities and town seized by IS militants in Anbar province.

Meanwhile, a Jordanian official said Iraqi authorities informed Jordan Thursday that they decided to close border with the Arab kingdom until further notice, the Jordanian state-run Petra news agency reported.

"The measure is expected as holidays are nearing because of Eid Al Fitr which will begin Friday. Iraq wants to keep its border safe and present any attack by the IS," a Jordanian military expert told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

He added that Iraq has recently started a military operation to fight the IS which controlled large areas in Anbar province near the borders with Jordan.

The security situation in Iraq has drastically deteriorated since June 10, 2014, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and IS militants.

Jordan, a member of the U.S.-led international coalition against the IS, has recently deployed troops and intensified its procedures and measures at the borders with Iraq and Syria. Endit