US in deadly raid on Syria

Sunday 4:45pm local time [13:45 GMT]:

Four American helicopters violated Syrian airspace. During the raids, two of the helicopters landed in the village of Sukariya - close to the town of Abu Kamal, 8km inside the Syrian border and dropped off eight US soldiers before flying back towards Iraqi territory. American soldiers attacked a civilian building under construction and fired at workmen inside, causing eight deaths. The government said that those killed in the raid were workers. Syria's foreign minister said that among the dead were a farmer, three children and a fisherman. "Killing civilians in international law means a terrorist aggression. We consider this a criminal and terrorist action," he said. The US official confirmed that women and children were at the house.

A Syrian government statement said: "Syria condemns this aggression and holds the American forces responsible for this aggression and all its repercussions." Damascus is considering its response to the attack. The US has not officially responded to Syria's accusation, but an unnamed US military official was reported by The Associated Press as saying that the raid by US special forces targeted al-Qaeda-linked foreign fighters who were moving through Syria into Iraq. "We are taking matters into our own hands," he was quoted as saying.

"This is an outrageous raid which is against international law. It is a terrible crime. I don't know the political meaning of it. We are expecting clarifications from the Americans," Syrian Ambassador to London Sami al-Khiyami told Reuters.

related: warcrimes