Key border with Jordan to reopen after year of closure

The capture of Rutba by the Iraqi army last week cleared the way for reopening the Trebil crossing, but security forces need time to clear explosives planted by the extremists, said the Iraqi ambassador to Jordan, Safia al-Souhail.

The Iraq military may not be able to secure the long desert highway from Islamic State counterattacks that could discourage truck drivers and business people who once used the route.

The vast deserts on the fringes of Anbar province, traditionally used by smugglers, were out of government control for years, even before the Islamic State takeover of some of the territory.

In Saturday’s announcement, the Iraqi ambassador said she also hopes an opening of the border will bring back large numbers of Iraqis from Anbar who sought refuge in Jordan after the initial Islamic State land grabs.

The men — Hussein Hasab, 21, and Haider Hassan, 43 — died of gunshot wounds Friday after thousands, mostly supporters of powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, surged up to the walls of Baghdad’s highly fortified Green Zone compound.