Pat Dollard

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Dead haajis. Syria.

“A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has said the raid by U.S. forces was believed to have killed a major al Qaeda operative who had helped smuggle foreign fighters into Iraq. Damascus has denied that.”

UPDATE BELOW REUTERS REPORT

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Syria called on the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday to take action to prevent a repeat of a weekend U.S. attack on Syrian territory, and to hold the United States accountable.

The United States has declined officially to confirm or deny U.S. involvement in the raid close to Syria’s border with Iraq, in which residents and Syrian officials say U.S. troops landed by helicopter and killed eight civilians on Sunday.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari condemned the “flagrant act of aggression” in duplicate letters to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui, current president of the Security Council.

In the letters, obtained by Reuters, he asked Ban and the council “to assume their responsibility to prevent any repetition of this grave violation and to hold the aggressor accountable for the killing of innocent Syrian civilians.”

Ja’afari said the raid “indicates that the current United States administration is determined to pursue the policy that has brought only death and destruction to the region.”

He also called on the Iraqi government to carry out a full investigation of the raid and ensure that its territory was not used in future for launching such attacks.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has said the raid by U.S. forces was believed to have killed a major al Qaeda operative who had helped smuggle foreign fighters into Iraq. Damascus has denied that.

Ja’afari, speaking to reporters, declined to say whether he wanted the Security Council to issue a statement of condemnation or if he wanted a resolution, which would be a much stronger form of protest. He said it was up to the council president to decide what action was appropriate.

However, the Syrian envoy said he wanted the council to hold the United States responsible “politically” and “legally.”

The United States, like Britain, France, China and Russia, is a permanent veto-wielding member of the council and can prevent it from taking any steps in response to the incident.

UPDATE:

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – Syria demanded Wednesday that the U.S. and Iraq apologize for an American commando raid mounted from Iraqi territory that killed eight people.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad denied U.S. claims that the helicopter raid by special forces Sunday killed a top al-Qaida in Iraq operative who was about to conduct an attack in Iraq.

“We ask of them (Iraqis) and the Americans to investigate and provide us with the background for such a criminal, terrorist act against an independent state … (and) make an official apology for this aggression and pledge not to repeat it,” Mekdad told The Associated Press in an interview. “What is required of the American government is to confess to this aggression and not be cowardly,” he added.

The strike Sunday near the border with Iraq was an extremely rare U.S. attack on Syrian territory. Though there has been no formal acknowledgment from the United States, officials speaking to the media on condition of anonymity, have said the target of the raid was Badran Turki al-Mazidih, known as Abu Ghadiyah, an Iraqi national linked to al-Qaida in Iraq who was involved in smuggling fighters across the border.

Mekdad said all the victims were Syrian civilians and Damascus does not know the whereabouts of the wanted Iraqi, Abu Ghadiyah.

“The allegation that this person was killed is a false claim. Therefore, a search for him by world intelligence agencies, including Syria’s, should continue,” he said.

He said Iraq and the U.S. should compensate Syria and demanded they also pledge not to use Iraqi territory to attack Syria again. He warned that if it did happen again, it could torpedo agreements with Iraq.

The U.S. Embassy in Syria warned Americans in the country to remain alert and said it could close its doors to the public.

“The American community in Syria should be aware that unforeseen events or circumstances may occur that could cause the U.S. Embassy in Damascus to close to the public for an unspecified period of time,” said the message posted on the Embassy’s Web site, which was dated Monday but was not widely available until Wednesday.

Syria’s government ordered an American community school and cultural center closed and has complained to the United Nations. But students and teachers attended classes as usual at the Damascus Community School in the capital’s upscale Maliki neighborhood despite the government’s closure order. An employee at the American cultural center, which is linked to the embassy, said it was also open

The Syrian Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. charge d’affaires in Damascus and officially informed her of the government’s decision to have the American school and the U.S. cultural center closed, the official news agency SANA reported. It said the U.S. diplomat was asked to take necessary measures to implement the decision.