Attack on Syria 'linked to US poll'

Damascus: Syria vehemently protested on Monday a US attack on a border village on Sunday that left eight civilians dead, with the official press branding it a "war crime." A US official who declined to be revealed said the attack was "successful" raid against foreign fighters, but Syrians say it was was politically motivated.

Thabet Salem a veteran Syrian political analyst explained to Gulf News that it seemed like a ploy by the election campaign of US presidential candidate John McCain.

"They [the Republicans] want to show the world that things remain complicated in the Middle East and threats are still there, to justify the continuation of the 'war on terror.' This gives strong long-term support to the McCain presidency," he said.

"The timing is amazing, from a neo-conservative point of view, a few days before the American elections," Marc Gopin, a Jewish-American professor at George Mason University who visits Syria frequently for inter-faith dialogue with its Mufti Ahmad Hassoun, said.

"The fact that the fighting lasted for 40 minutes means that it was planned beforehand. This means that Syrian radars were jammed to enable such a long operation. The tension is intentional at this stage to serve the McCain campaign," journalist Mustapha Al Sayyed told Gulf News.

A planned joint news conference by the foreign ministers of Britain and Syria was scrapped yesterday following the raid.

Britain's government has declined to comment on the raid, saying the matter is an issue between Syria and the United States. "Both ourselves and the Syrians agreed that it would not be appropriate to hold a formal press conference as planned," a British Foreign Office official said.

A funeral was held for the victims of the strike as angry residents shouted anti-American slogans and carried banners reading: "Down with Bush and the American enemy."

Meanwhile, Syria's main ally in the region came to its defence. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned the attack calling it a violation of Syria's territorial integrity. Syria's neighbour Lebanon also condemned the attack.

Syria summoned the Iraqi charge d'affairs, and his US counterpart Maura Connelly and issued a strong worded condemnation of the attack and the behaviour of both Baghdad and Washington.

Iraqi Foreign Ministry undersecretary Labib Abbawi says the Iraqis hope the raid "does not impact negatively" on relations with Syria. He also said that Baghdad is "trying to contain the fallout" from the "regrettable" incident.

Sunday's attack was described as "the first act of American aggression on Syria" since relations were established between the two states in 1945. Shock prevailed on the streets of Damascus as news of the attack was broadcasted on Syrian TV. At 4.15pm, four American planes invaded Syrian airspace and bombed within the Sukkariya village near the town of Abu Kamal 600km from Damascus.

Eyewitnesses told Gulf News that US soldiers disembarked from two helicopters that landed, and shot at a building under construction, causing fatalities. "The fighting lasted for 40 minutes," said a resident of Al Sukariya, adding, "All those killed were construction workers."

- With inputs from agencies