Here I am Lord pick me.
Posted on 10/26/2008 2:42:25 PM PDT by nuconvert
United States military helicopters bombed targets in a Syrian border town near Iraq on Sunday after Global Jihad operatives allegedly crossed the border into Syria, killing at least eight people.
The raid, which a US military official in Washington confirmed, indicated the desert frontier between the two countries remains a key battleground 5 1/2 years into the Iraq war. The US official said the attack targeted elements of a robust foreign fighter logistics network and that due to Syrian inaction the US was now "taking matters into our own hands."
Israeli defense officials said the incident was not connected to Israel and that the American troops had been chasing Global Jihad suspects in Iraq. The helicopters then crossed into Syria in pursuit of the terrorists.
According to Syria's state-run television, US military helicopters attacked an area near the Syrian border town of Abu Kamal and that there were casualties. It gave no other details on Sunday's attack.
The US military official said the special forces raid targeted elements of a network that sends fighters from North Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East to Syria, where elements of the Syrian military are in league with al-Qaida and other fighters. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of cross-border raids.
While US forces have had considerable success in shutting down the "rat lines" in Iraq with help from Iraq and governments in North Africa, the Syrian part of the network has been out of reach, he said.
"The one piece of the puzzle we have not been showing success on is the nexus in Syria," the official said. "We are taking matters into our own hands."
Local residents told The Associated Press by telephone that two helicopters carrying US soldiers raided Hwijeh village, 17 kilometers inside Syria's border, killing seven people and wounding five others. Reuters quoted residents who said that the attack targeted a house in the area in which a man and his four sons and two nearby workers were killed.
Another report said that four helicopters were involved in the operation and that two of the helicopters landed and soldiers disembarked.
On Sunday night, Syria condemned the US military strike, and said it holds the US responsible for the incident.
Syria claimed the eight casualties were construction workers, who were building at a private construction site, Israel Radio reported.
According to the report, a senior Syrian official told the national Syrian television network that Syria demands that the Iraqi government investigate the violation of Syrian sovereignty and prevent further attacks on Syria from Iraqi territory.
Following the attack, the Syrian Foreign Ministry summoned the stand-in US ambassador in Syria and Iraqi officials in Damascus in order to formally express objection to the attack carried out on Syrian territory.
On Thursday, the commander of US forces in western Iraq said in a briefing with reporters that American troops were redoubling efforts to secure the Syrian border, from where some fighters were continuing to enter Iraq.
Maj. Gen. John Kelly said in last week's briefing that 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 US 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.
On September 6, 2007 the Israeli Air Force bombed and destroyed a nuclear reactor Syria was building in the northeast along the Euphrates River.
The area bombed Sunday 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 insurgents seized Qaim in April 2005, forcing US 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.
They should have continued into Lebanon and killed as many Islamofascists there as they could.
Yeah!
The raid, which a US military official in Washington confirmed>
MEANS to me that the PRESIDENT approved it....
Question is...What would Obama have done?
“Global Jihad?”
I don’t know whether it’s the name of a faction or the JPost is distinguishing domestic terrorists from global terrorists.
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Global Jihad operatives
Next time let's make sure Boy Assad is in the building.
L
Wonder if it was anyone we’ve heard of?
Probably building a homeless shelter for wayward jihadis.
That’s about 3-4 years later than it should have been (incursions into Syria, that is).
We’ll hear eventually surely....
"terror targets possibly linked to the Global Jihad and Al Qaida."
Used a proper noun. Just a catch-all for all the other terrorist groups?
To me that means this group we’ve been allowing to exist while we used it to infiltrate our spies into other Syrian groups is no longer needed.
Good, very good. Hopefully we’re doing as well infiltrating Iran.
Of course your right , but still , better late than never.
Yes , Iran just saw the first shoe drop.
You have mail!
No wonder Mahmoud called in sick today....
What would Syria have done? Send terrorists into Iraq for revenge? /s
Here I am Lord pick me.
These pursuits were probably mentioned as a possibility.
Note that Syria is not exactly mobilizing on the Iraqi border. They issue a mere "condemnation".
yitbos
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