Syria Protests US Chopper Raid

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - U.S. military helicopters have launched an extremely rare attack on Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq Sunday, killing eight people.

Damascus is condemning the attack as “serious aggression,“ and says it has summoned the charges d’affaires of the United States and Iraq to protest the strike. Syria says it was a civilian construction site, and that civilians are among the dead, including four children.

But a U.S. military official says special forces targeted the foreign fighter network that travels through Syria into Iraq. The official says U.S. forces have been unable to shut down the network because it has been out of the military’s reach. Now, the official says, “We are taking matters into our own hands.“

Just days ago, a top U.S. commander called the Syrian border an “uncontrolled” gateway for fighters entering Iraq.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)