Saudi Arabia has begun the construction of a high-security five-layered 900-km fence on the border with Iraq to protect the country from “infiltrators and smugglers,” said the state news agency.

The highly-sophisticated fence will cover 900 km of Saudi Arabia’s northern frontier, SPA state news agency reported. Watchtowers, night vision and radars will provide surveillance along the fence, it added.

The Saudi move comes as the Islamic State tightens its grip in Iraq seizing swathes of land in lightning speed across the country.

Unveiling the first phase of a security border program, King Abdullah said the fence’s purpose was to cut the "number of infiltrators, drug, arms and cattle smugglers to zero."

It is part of efforts to ensure the safety of the vast desert border region, the report added.

Saudi Arabia had already deployed 30,000 troops to its 800-km border with Iraq two months ago, after the Islamic State began its rapid advancement.

Control complexes have already been built in areas stretching from Hafr Al Batin in the northeast to Turaif near the Jordanian border, according to SPA.

The fence on the Iraq border is not the first one for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom already has a 1,800-km barrier along its border with Yemen.

Saudi Arabia had signed a deal with European aerospace and defence contractors EADS to build a high-tech security fence on 9,000 km of the country's borders.