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Um, we just bombed Syria...
DAMASCUS, Syria ? U.S. military helicopters launched an extremely rare attack Sunday on Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq, killing eight people in a strike the government in Damascus condemned as "serious aggression."
A U.S. military official said the raid by special forces targeted the network of al-Qaida-linked foreign fighters moving through Syria into Iraq. The Americans have been unable to shut the network down in the area because Syria was out of the military's reach.
"We are taking matters into our own hands," the official told The Associated Press in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of cross-border raids.
The attack came just days after the commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq said American troops were redoubling efforts to secure the Syrian border, which he called an "uncontrolled" gateway for fighters entering Iraq.
A Syrian government statement said the helicopters attacked the Sukkariyeh Farm near the town of Abu Kamal, five miles inside the Syrian border. Four helicopters attacked a civilian building under construction shortly before sundown and fired on workers inside, the statement said.
The government said civilians were among the dead, including four children.
A resident of the nearby village of Hwijeh said some of the helicopters landed and troops exited the aircraft and fired on a building. He said the aircraft flew along the Euphrates River into the area of farms and several brick factories. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information,
Syria's Foreign Ministry said it summoned the charges d'affaires of the United States and Iraq to protest against the strike.
"Syria condemns this aggression and holds the American forces responsible for this aggression and all its repercussions. Syria also calls on the Iraqi government to shoulder its responsibilities and launch and immediate investigation into this serious violation and prevent the use of Iraqi territory for aggression against Syria," the government statement said.
The area targeted is near the Iraqi border city of Qaim, which had been a major crossing point for fighters, weapons and money coming into Iraq to fuel the Sunni insurgency.
Iraqi travelers making their way home across the border reported hearing many explosions, said Farhan al-Mahalawi, mayor of Qaim.
On Thursday, U.S. Maj. Gen. John Kelly said Iraq's western borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan were fairly tight as a result of good policing by security forces in those countries but that Syria was a "different story."
"The Syrian side is, I guess, uncontrolled by their side," Kelly said. "We still have a certain level of foreign fighter movement."
He added that the U.S. was helping construct a sand berm and ditches along the border.
"There hasn't been much, in the way of a physical barrier, along that border for years," Kelly said.
The foreign fighters network sends militants from North Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East to Syria, where elements of the Syrian military are in league with al-Qaida and loyalists of Saddam Hussein's Baath party, the U.S. military official said.
He said that while American forces have had considerable success, with Iraqi help, in shutting down the "rat lines" in Iraq, and with foreign government help in North Africa, the Syrian node has been out of reach.
"The one piece of the puzzle we have not been showing success on is the nexus in Syria," the official said.
The White House in August approved similar special forces raids from Afghanistan across the border of Pakistan to target al-Qaida and Taliban operatives. At least one has been carried out.
The flow of foreign fighters into Iraq has been cut to an estimated 20 a month, a senior U.S. military intelligence official told the Associated Press in July. That's a 50 percent decline from six months ago, and just a fifth of the estimated 100 foreign fighters who were infiltrating Iraq a year ago, according to the official.
Ninety percent of the foreign fighters enter through Syria, according to U.S. intelligence. Foreigners are some of the most deadly fighters in Iraq, trained in bomb-making and with small-arms expertise and more likely to be willing suicide bombers than Iraqis.
Foreign fighters toting cash have been al-Qaida in Iraq's chief source of income. They contributed more than 70 percent of operating budgets in one sector in Iraq, according to documents captured in September 2007 on the Syrian border. Most of the fighters were conveyed through professional smuggling networks, according to the report.
Iraqi insurgents seized Qaim in April 2005, forcing U.S. Marines to recapture the town the following month in heavy fighting. The area became secure only after Sunni tribes in Anbar turned against al-Qaida in late 2006 and joined forces with the Americans.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem accused the United States earlier this year of not giving his country the equipment needed to prevent foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq. He said Washington feared Syria could use such equipment against Israel.
Though Syria has long been viewed by the U.S. as a destabilizing country in the Middle East, in recent months, Damascus has been trying to change its image and end years of global seclusion.
Its president, Bashar Assad, has pursued indirect peace talks with Israel, mediated by Turkey, and says he wants direct talks next year. Syria also has agreed to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon, a country it used to dominate both politically and militarily, and has worked harder at stemming the flow of militants into Iraq.
The U.S. military in Baghdad did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Sunday's raid.
Re: Um, we just bombed Syria...
OMFG. ?I guess GWB needs to do as much d*ckhead damage as he can before he leaves.
I am so ashamed of this country right now.?
I had a sinking feeling the pit of my stomach that this could be a godsend for McCain. October surprise?
I seriously hope that early voting goes beserk before McCain tries to convince people that we need ANOTHER FRONT in the interminable "war on terror."
I am a runner, knitter, scientist, DE-IVF veteran, and stage III colon cancer survivor.
The news report I heard on this earlier referenced civilian casualties (and we were listening to conservative radio on the way home from dinner so I can't blame it on the darn liberal media). That's lovely.
How was this action legal per international law?
I fear the soul of this country is disappearing.
Supposedly bombed Pakistan as well.
Yikes.
Pakistan, whaa??? Source?
Here, have a source.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5imfDkEQ6jr_-MlAp2qhs0qD-CLEA
ISLAMABAD (AFP) ? Suspected US spy drones fired missiles into a militant training camp in a stronghold of Pakistan's top Taliban commander, killing at least 10 people, security officials said.The air strike on Sunday in the restive South Waziristan tribal zone bordering Afghanistan was the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani soil that have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington.It targeted a compound near the town of Ladha, one of the main sectors held by Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, who has been accused of masterminding the assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto in December.There were no immediate indications that Mehsud, the chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistan Taliban movement), was targeted in the attack."Two missiles hit the compound, which was being used for training, and destroyed it. Initial reports say at least 10 people have been killed," a senior security official told AFP.A local official also confirmed the strike but did not have a confirmed death toll.A New York Times report, however, said the United States is refraining from using its special forces on Pakistani territory following a raid nearly two months ago that resulted in civilian casualties and vehement protests from Islamabad.The US military has stepped up attacks on militants in Pakistani territory since a new civilian government came to power in Islamabad in March, and the incidents have become an issue in the US presidential election.There was no immediate confirmation of the latest strike from the Pakistani military or from the US-led coalition in Afghanistan.Despite the fact that Mehsud is one of Pakistan's wanted men, the strike was one of the first in his territory since the United States dramatically stepped up the number of missile attacks on Pakistani soil earlier this year.Previous US strikes have targeted Taliban leaders blamed mainly for cross-border attacks inside Afghanistan, whereas Mehsud's activities have mostly been conducted at home, security officials said.Sunday's strike was the 12th such incident in the past 10 weeks, all of which have been blamed on US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan.US and Afghan officials say northwest Pakistan is a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants who sneaked in from Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.But Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed zero tolerance against violations of his country's sovereignty amid the strikes, which have stoked anti-US sentiment in Pakistan.Last week, 11 people were killed when suspected US spy drones fired missiles into a school in North Waziristan set up by veteran Taliban militant Jalaluddin Haqqani, a major target for US forces, security officials said.Haqqani was one of the most prominent Afghan commanders who fought the Soviet Red Army between 1978 and 1989. He subsequently became close to Mullah Omar, the leader of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime in Afghanistan.Since the fall of the Taliban, Haqqani has become one of the most active Taliban commanders launching attacks on international forces in Afghanistan from safe havens in Pakistan, officials here say.Last week, Pakistan's parliament passed a special resolution calling for an urgent review of the government's anti-terror policy, including more talks with militants and a vow to defend Pakistan's territorial sovereignty.Troops have for months battled militants in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal zones bordering Afghanistan, especially in the Bajaur area.Eleven militants were killed Sunday in separate clashes with troops in Bajaur, one day after the military announced it had recaptured an Al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold in the area following two months of intense fighting.In neighbouring Mohmand, 12 people, mainly paramilitary soldiers, were wounded late Sunday in a suicide car bomb attack on a checkpost, a senior security official said.And in the restive northwestern Swat valley, 15 people including 10 Taliban militants were killed in a gun battle with locals, officials said.The clash erupted in Matta district when supporters of radical pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah tried to kidnap a religious leader who has raised a 500-strong militia against Taliban rebels, a military official said.Once a popular tourist resort, Swat has been turned into a battleground since Fazlullah launched a violent campaign for Islamic Sharia law.?
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my read shelf: