Syrian threatens to halt Iraq border cooperation over U.S. raid

Syria hardened its Wednesday stance against the U.S., threatening to cut off cooperation on Iraqi border security if there are more American raids on Syrian territory.

The U.S. embassy announced it would close Thursday after the mass demonstration was called for the same day to protest a Sunday cross-border raid by U.S. helicopters from Iraq that Syria said killed eight people in the eastern border community of Abu Kamal.

Thousands are expected to attend the government-sanctioned protest. Though authorities usually keep Syria under tight control and Americans have generally been welcomed, violence against U.S. and European interests at protests has erupted in the past.

"The U.S. embassy will be closed on Oct. 30th due to past demonstrations which resulted in violence and significant damage to U.S. facilities and other embassies," the embassy said on its Web site.

It also said an American school would temporarily shut its doors Thursday and warned Americans to be vigilant - raising concerns about the safety of U.S. citizens in Syria.

The Syrian government had already ordered the closure of the American school, which is located in an upscale neighborhood, and a cultural center linked to the embassy.

In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said Syria had formally notified the U.S. of the closure order of the cultural center, effective immediately, and the school by November 6.

"We are looking at how to respond," Wood said, adding that in the meantime: "We expect the Syrian government to provide adequate security for the buildings in which the American Cultural Center and Damascus Community School are housed."

Syria demanded probe into U.S. raid

Earlier Wednesday, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad demanded an investigation into Sunday's raid and assurances that Iraqi territory not be used for attacking Syria. If U.S. troops raid Syrian territory again, Mekdad warned that cooperation would be cut off.

"We have demanded that an investigation be conducted and that Iraq not be used for attacks against Syria. Otherwise, this would torpedo all agreements reached during the Iraq neighbors' meetings and bilateral agreements," he told The Associated Press in an interview. He also demanded the U.S. apologize and pay compensation.

In identical letters to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council, Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari said the U.S. "act of aggression ... indicates that the current United States administration is determined to pursue the policy that has brought only death and destruction to the region and succeeded only in escalating tension and spreading instability and anarchy throughout the area."

The Syrian government "expects the Security Council and UN member states to assume their responsibility to prevent any repetition of this grave violation and to hold the aggressor accountable for the killing of innocent Syrian citizens, with a view to maintaining security and stability in the Middle East," Ja'afari said.

There has been no formal acknowledgment of the raid from the United States. But U.S. officials, speaking to the media on condition of anonymity, have said the target of the raid was Badran Turki al-Mazidih, a top al-Qaida in Iraq figure who operated a network of smuggling fighters into the war-torn country. The Iraqi national also goes by the name Abu Ghadiyah.

Mekdad rejected the U.S. reports and insisted all those killed were Syrians.

"The allegation that this person was killed is a false claim. Therefore, a search for him by world intelligence agencies, including Syria's, should continue," he said.

Syria demanded on Tuesday that the United Nations Security Council take action against the U.S. over a helicopter raid on its soil on Sunday.

Syria said the helicopter strike on the village of Sukkariyeh, five miles (8 kilometers) from the border with Iraq, killed eight civilians, while a U.S. official said the raid was believed to have killed a major al Qaida operative who helped smuggle foreign fighters into Iraq.

In a letter to the UN secretary general and the Security Council, Syria asked that the attack be condemned and that Washington held responsible, Syria's official news agency SANA reported.

"Syria ..., as it draws attention to this blatant act of aggression, expects the Security Council and United Nations members to shoulder their responsibilities to prevent such a dangerous violation in the future and hold the aggressor responsible," said the letter, carried by SANA.