http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/14/us-iraq-syria-idUSTRE81D0NX20120214Iraqi fighters, arms trickle into Syria as violence grows
By Khalid al-Taie
MOSUL, Iraq | Tue Feb 14, 2012 7:44am EST
(Reuters) - Weapons and Sunni Muslim insurgents are seeping from Iraq into Syria, Iraqi officials and arms dealers say, fuelling violence in a country that once sent guns and militants the other way.
The revolt against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has struck a chord with Sunni tribes in Iraq's border provinces of Anbar and Ninawa, where strong family ties across the poorly guarded frontier have long favored contraband and trafficking.
Iraq, awash with weapons since the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, is still plagued by violence from al-Qaeda affiliates, Sunni Islamists, fighters tied to Saddam's Baathist party, Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias and criminal gangs.
Now Iraqi security officials say there are signs Sunni insurgents are beginning cross the border to join Assad's opponents, and gun smugglers are cashing in as prices double for weapons reaching concealed in commercial cargoes.