Iraq tightens security at Syria border to stop arms flow

Iraq said on Saturday it had reinforced security along its Syrian border to prevent arms smuggling, after reports fighters and weapons were crossing into Syria where President Bashar Assad has been facing an increasingly armed revolt.

The Shiite-led Iraqi government is worried the unrest in Syria, now nearly a year old, could spill across the porous 600 km (373 mile) frontier and upset its own fragile sectarian balance. (Reuters)