Senior US officials claimed last night that the head of a Syrian network responsible for smuggling foreign fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq had been killed in Syria during a raid by US special forces that sparked strong condemnation from Damascus. The Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem said the raid had killed eight civilians and was an act of "criminal and terrorist aggression." Speaking at a news conference in London, he warned that Damascus would defend itself against any such future attack. Sunday's raid, 10km from the Iraqi border, took place in daylight and therefore was "not a mistake," he said. The rare attack into Syria marks an unexpected expansion of the war in Iraq and comes as the level of fighting drops to its lowest level for four years.
Senior US officials claimed last night that the head of a Syrian network responsible for smuggling foreign fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq had been killed in Syria during a raid by US special forces that sparked strong condemnation from Damascus.
The Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem said the raid had killed eight civilians and was an act of "criminal and terrorist aggression." Speaking at a news conference in London, he warned that Damascus would defend itself against any such future attack.
Sunday's raid, 10km from the Iraqi border, took place in daylight and therefore was "not a mistake," he said.
The rare attack into Syria marks an unexpected expansion of the war in Iraq and comes as the level of fighting drops to its lowest level for four years.
Also, at a time (up until the first year of the US invasion of Afghanistan, I think) I believed special operations commandos would be a more targeted way to fight war than bombing the hell out of a country. But the Iraq war at the latest taught me that commandos have a tendency to shoot everyone and ask questions later, especially when getting the wrong guys. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
