Iraqi border guard forces thwarted an infiltration attempt by gunmen coming from Syria to Iraq, arresting one gunman, while the others managed to return to Syria, the Iraqi Defence Ministry said Wednesday (April 25th).

"The infiltration attempt took place at 9 p.m. Tuesday evening when 15 to 20 militants were engaged after they refused to surrender. They holed up at a border area in Baaj, a town in Ninawa near Syrian soil," Lt. Col. Abdul Rahim al-Atwani, the Iraqi army spokesperson in Ninawa, told Al-Shorfa.

Al-Atwani said some of the militants who returned to Syria sustained injuries during the clashes.