Over 7,000 Syrian refugees return from Iraq as security improves

Iraqi army soldiers stand guard at a gate refugee camp in al-Qaim, Anbar province September 8, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 7,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq have crossed back to the rebel-held Syrian border town of Albu Kamal in recent weeks due to better security there, an Iraqi official said on Sunday.

The reverse flow coincides with a lull in battles and air raids by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military, which has been on the offensive elsewhere in Syria, especially in the western town of Qusair, around Damascus and in the south.