Iraq has dispatched extra police to boost security along its border with Syria a week after a US military raid into the neighbouring country, an interior ministry spokesman said today. The additional forces, from the western Anbar province, were sent to secure areas where foreign fighters are known to infiltrate Iraq, said Maj Gen Abdel Karim Khalaf. The policemen are expected to be deployed around the border town of Al Qaim, a known transit point for foreign fighters entering Iraq from Syria.
US forces a week ago raided a Syrian village in an operation American commanders said targeted an Iraqi militant leader known to smuggle fighters into Iraq. Damascus said eight civilians were killed in the attack. The incursion has triggered fresh tension between Damascus and Baghdad and Syria has reportedly reduced its forces from border areas. The US military has regularly accused Damascus of turning a blind eye towards foreign insurgents entering Iraq to fight the US occupation.
*AFP