The Iraqi government closed the Yaarubiyeh border gate linking eastern Syrian and the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh because of the spreading violence in Syria. Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said on Thursday that Iraq has sent military troops to defend the border against Syrian insurgents.

Iraqi soldiers guard the Iraq-Syria border point (Photo: AFP)

In related news, the UN Security Council has asked Syrian rebels to release UN 20 peacekeepers captured earlier in Syria’s Golan Heights. Diplomats say those hostages are Filipinos who work for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). The UN has established a emergency group to deal with this situation.