U.S. calls Syria raid 'successful' as Damascus fumes

Tuesday 28th October, 06:16 AM JST

WASHINGTON —

U.S. forces in Iraq staged a “successful” raid into Syria against foreign fighters, an American official said on Monday, as a furious Damascus accused Washington of “terrorist aggression.”

Among those believed killed, the official said, was Abu Ghadiya, “one of the most prominent foreign fighter facilitators in the region.”

“The operation was successful,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He is believed to have been killed.”

It was the first confirmed U.S. action of its kind into Syrian territory and signaled that Washington is moving to the kind of aggressive tactics against insurgent sanctuaries along Iraq’s borders that it has been using with increasing intensity in Pakistan’s tribal border areas.

“We consider this criminal and terrorist aggression,” Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told a news conference in London after talks with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

“Killing civilians in international law means a terrorist aggression,” added Muallem, whose country’s official media said eight civilians were killed, including children.

Asked if Syria would use force if the Americans mounted a similar operation again, he said: “As long as you are saying if, I tell you, if they do it again, we will defend our territories.”

The Syrian minister said that four U.S. helicopters had crossed the border on Sunday afternoon. Two landed at a village in northeast Syria while the other two aircraft protected them.

Soldiers emerged after the helicopters landed and started shooting at civilians working on farms, including a father and his three children and a fisherman, he said.

“All of them are civilians, Syrian, unarmed and they are on the Syrian territories,” Muallem told reporters.

Official media in Damascus reported earlier that the helicopter-borne troops from Iraq launched an assault on a building site in Al-Sukkiraya village, which lies just eight kilometers from the border on the Euphrates river and close to the Iraqi town of Al-Qaim, a stronghold of al-Qaida and other insurgents.

Hundreds of villagers took part on Monday in funerals for seven of those killed in the raid, chanting anti-American slogans.

Women in black wept as relatives carried the coffins in a funeral procession in the village of Hamdan, near Al-Sukkiraya.

A crowd of mourners chanted slogans mocking “American democracy” while others carried banners which read: “We will not go down on our knees before the Americans,” and “Death to the criminal Bush.”

In Baghdad, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that the area targeted was “a theater of insurgent activities against Iraq using Syria as a launch pad.”

The U.S. official in Washington, who declined to be identified, provided few details of the raid itself but did not dispute Syrian accounts of the raid.

“Look, when you’ve got an opportunity, an important one, you take it,” the official said. “That’s what the American people would expect, particularly when it comes to foreign fighters going into Iraq, threatening our forces.”

The raid came less than a week after the capture in Husaybah, Iraq of a weapons smuggler associated with Abu Ghadiya who the official said was targeted on Sunday.

The official press in Damascus blasted the attack as a “war crime” by Bush’s administration.

Damascus summoned the official U.S. and Iraqi representatives in protest, the state news agency SANA said.

The Arab League condemned the assault as a “violation which does nothing to help stability in the region and can only lead to new tensions,” calling for those responsible to be held to account.

In neighboring Lebanon, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said the raid “constitutes a violation of Syrian sovereignty and thus is a dangerous, unacceptable attack that we condemn.”

Syrian state television broadcast pictures of the scene, showing a building site with bloodstains on the ground, and the bodies of victims in the local morgue.

U.S. commanders say Syria is the main transit point for foreign jihadists crossing into Iraq and have blamed Damascus for turning a blind eye to the problem.

Foreign Minister Muallem rejected the claims. “Syria did utmost effort to control the border. As anywhere in the world, you can’t seal the border 100%. You need a partner on the other side to control his side of the border,” he said.

Major General John Kelly, the U.S. commander in western Iraq, told reporters Thursday that Iraqi intelligence believes that “al-Qaida operatives and others operate, live pretty openly on the Syrian side.”

“And periodically, we know that they try to come across,” he said.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 33 Total Comments Show All

moonbeams at 03:54 PM JST - 28th October

Is it worth killing innocent people to get your guy?

Because that turns a nation against you.

"Hey, let's make some more enemies!"
dennis0bauer at 04:05 PM JST - 28th October

we come in peace, shoot to kill, shoot to kill, shoot to kill. Imperialistic America strikes again. The arab nations will form an alliance and then world war 3 will finally start. Next we will live as fred flinstone
CavemanLawyer at 04:14 PM JST - 28th October

Obama stated that if terrorist use locations in other countries to attack other countries of American intrest then we will go after those people in their countries with or without the countries permission......

I think you are completely wrong about that Nippon5. Can you quote him? I think you have McCain confused with Obama? --Cirroc
CavemanLawyer at 04:19 PM JST - 28th October

Well, I have some dubious feelings about this. America seeing diplomacy as a last resort is getting pretty sickening. But on the other hand, if the Syrians cannot do anything about these militants abusing the border then somebody has to. Still, I would much prefer that the U.S. try diplomacy first, and if that fails, then pull something like this.

But for crap's sake, try to capture alive. Situations like this warrant a trial. Caught red-handed crossing the border and fire away. But at home on the farm and get a sudden raid? Its hard to know if you shot up the right people.

I am glad that we at least got some names and an explanation. I thought they would just try to sweep this under the rug like the attack drone on the school in Pakistan. --Cirroc
CavemanLawyer at 04:32 PM JST - 28th October

Ok Nippon5, here is the proof. McCain accused Obama of wanting to tip off the enemy before an attack

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/125934/Fact-check-Obama-McCain-twist-records

McCain went on: "I'm not going to telegraph my punches, which is what Sen. Obama did.

Understand that McCain will still punch, he just won't telegraph it. Here, another quote:

Asked if "you'd go get him" if U.S. forces had a fix on bin Laden in Pakistan, McCain said: "Sure. Sure. We have to, and I'm sure that after the initial flurry, that whoever our friends are, wherever he is, would be relieved because, as I mentioned to you before, he's still very effective in the world, very, very effective."
SuperLib at 06:05 PM JST - 28th October

But on the other hand, if the Syrians cannot do anything about these militants abusing the border then somebody has to.

Yep, that's pretty much the situation the US and other countries are working through right now. It's not good to have one side take out threats in other countries without any coordination from the host because problems can (and will) arise. But you also have the situation where a government gives terrorists free reign to operate in their country then claims the US can do nothing about it because of sovereignty issues.
Nippon5 at 07:27 PM JST - 28th October

Really caveman??

Seems he said it different then you remember...

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=uw2XTC1V4fk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=uTwUAAmRuNM
Nippon5 at 07:34 PM JST - 28th October

Sezwho2

Harbor means to protect and to shield nothing else.... They know they are there and they do not remove them, in fact they consider them an asset....

But Im not in Syria and neither are you so we dont know for a fact they are or are not Harboring them. We also dont know if the target was just across the border killing children and woman,... We assume allot, so for me that includes Syria (which has a history of siding with the rebel causes of the area) is a harboring them and wont rid themselves of them...
ImperiumMundi at 10:13 PM JST - 28th October

a top al qaeda figure was nabbed in this raid. 90 percent of the jihadist crazies attempting to counter American might in the region enter iraq through syria. next time a washed up hippie like charley rose asks sarah palin about the bush doctrine all she needs to do is remind him of this success. gotcha.
SezWho2 at 10:42 PM JST - 28th October

Nippon5,

"To harbor" does mean "to protect and shield". However it also means something else. It means "to take shelter".

Your house can harbor mice. You most likely are not harboring them. The mice are harboring in your house. You might even know that they are there, but you are not harboring them. You might have made efforts to get rid of them, but they're still there. You're still not harboring them.

I don't think I have made any assumption as to whether Syria is or is not harboring insurgents. I'm certainly willing to stipulate, however, that insurgents are harboring in Syria. My point was that whether Syria know they are there or not, what will most help Iraq and Syria is for those two governments to work it out between themselves. If troops are necessary, for strikes in Syria it should be Iraqi troops and not Iraq's hired Hessians. And when you look at it that way and see the problem of using Iraqi troops, then it makes a greater case for diplomacy--at least in my opinion.
ca1ic0cat at 02:23 AM JST - 29th October

Let Damascus fume. That dictatorship has caused enough grief in Lebanon that they deserve every whack of the stick that they get.
Helter_Skelter at 04:45 AM JST - 29th October

Let Damascus fume.

If Damascus were smart, they'd just keep cool for the next few months. When Obama takes office, it will be a free for all for the Jihadists. Syria will be able to send as many terrorists into Iraq or Lebanon or wherever they want. January 20, 2009 - Jihadist Liberation Day.
adaydream at 04:59 AM JST - 29th October

I understand that we have been tracking Abu Ghadiya for some time and we could have taken him out at any time. This administration took it upon itself to take him out now to boost McCain's chances at being elected. < :-)
Nippon5 at 10:06 AM JST - 29th October

Yes adaydream and they will do OBL tomorrow to make sure McCain wins.....

By god do you really think that way or do you try to be funny all the time?

SezWHo2.. I said they are harboring, not the terrorist are seeking harbor... So the way I said it is exactly the way I meant it.

They have harbored terrorist in the past, they have created terrorist groups, so based on the history and goverments desire to harbor terrorist I can come to a very firm conclusion they know those terrorist are there..

http://terrorism.about.com/od/statesponsors/p/Syria.htm

I wish diplomatic means worked in this case, but they have failed so many times in the past most are not willing to do them with Syria anymore...

Only answer is getting the US out of all foriegn countries including those we are allies with... Then let them defend or attack who ever they want, cause we dont get paid enough to babysit all these children...
SezWho2 at 01:03 PM JST - 29th October

Nippon5,

Yes, I know what you said. And I know how you meant it. And I was taking issue with how you meant it and saying, "tain't necessarily so".

That Syria has harbored terrorist groups in the past says nothing about what they are doing now. We have brutalized "enemy combatants" in the past. We're not supposed to be doing that now.

And as far as diplomacy is concerned, I would say that diplomacy never works until it does. We need to keep trying. When insurgent attacks from Syria are down from 120 a month to 10 to 20 a month, maybe the Syrians are helping. In any event, it seems an odd time to opt for a very undiplomatic track.