Govt. in contact with U.S. side on Syria attack – spokesman

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi government is in contact with the U.S. side regarding the reported attack on an area on the borders with Syria, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Monday. “This area has been a theater for anti-Iraq terrorist organizations’ activities launched from Syria, the recent of which was an operation by a terrorist group killing 13 Iraqi interior ministry personnel in a border village,” Dabbagh said in statements to IraqiNews.com. “Iraq then had asked the Syrian authorities to hand over the members of this group that use Syrian territories as a springboard to launch its anti-Iraq terrorist activities,” he added. Syrian sources had said on Sunday that four U.S. copters violated Syrian airspace in the area of al-Bu Kamal with a depth of eight kilometers and opened fire at workers inside a civilian building under construction, killing eight people and wounding another. The incident prompted Damascus to summon the Iraqi charge d’affaires to notify him of its protest. “Iraq always seeks distinguished good relations with neighboring Syria but the presence on Syrian territories of these anti-Iraq groups that are involved in terrorist activities against Iraqis would hamper progress of these relations,” added Dabbagh. AmR (P) 1