TREBIL, Iraq — On Iraq's western edge, a border crossing with Jordan is surrounded by desert that has long been difficult to secure. The same can be said for Qaim, a port of entry further north that borders Syria. And along Iraq's eastern border with Iran, there is the Zerbatiya crossing, where the Hamrin mountains — known for decades as a favorite hideout of insurgent groups — stretching to the Salahuddin province are silhouetted against the horizon.
The Rutba area, along the main road between Trebil and Anbar province's capital, Ramadi, has been the site of several terrorism-linked incidents in recent weeks. A Jan. 29 confrontation southwest of the city between border police and three men, one of whom was wearing a suicide belt, resulted in the attackers' deaths and the wounding of a policeman.
