RUWAISHED, Jordan — Although talks are underway in the Iraqi capital to reopen the country's only crossing to Jordan, one fact remains. The once-thriving trucking route between the two countries has been reduced to an empty gray strip, indistinguishable from the black basalt rock and sand of the surrounding desert, long before the closure on July 16.

Authorities in Baghdad decided to shut operations last month, in the hope to interrupt the flow of revenues to the Islamic State (IS) from commercial trucks traveling across Iraq. Jordanian officials confirmed the closure shortly after. But sources inside Iraq see the move as a security measure, amid ongoing military operations across the restive Anbar province.

Since the area tumbled into turmoil in January 2014, truckers crossing into Jordan have faced such heightened risks on the long connecting highway that it has become known as the "highway through hell." Drivers earlier this year reported being given an IS-stamped receipt to show to the next group of militants farther down the road, as evidence they paid their way. Fees from the militants could reach up to $300.

Bolstered by Sunni and Shiite militias, Iraqi government forces have been battling IS militants in the western Anbar governorate for months with minute success.