"The Syrians have to stop sending destruction to Iraq. The terrorists have no other gateway into Iraq but Syria," he said.
Saturday's closure of the nearby border crossing with Syria did not affect the frontier crossing near the insurgent stronghold of Qaim which sits on the major highway into Syria and is well to the south of Rabiyah.
Faysal Ibrahim, the head of Syria's Customs Department at the nearby Yaaroubiya border crossing, said US helicopters were seen on Sunday morning about 500m from the Syrian border. Some 500 cargo trucks were lined up at the crossing after the closure.
The offensive in Tal Afar is especially delicate because of the tangle of ethnic sensitivities in the region. About 90 percent of the city's population -- most of which fled to the countryside before the fighting began -- is Sunni Turkmen who have complained about their treatment from the Shiite-dominated government and police force put in place after the US invasion in 2003.
Addressing the complaint, Interior Minister Bayan Jabr announced that 1,000 additional police officers would be hired in Tal Afar after the offensive and that they'd be chosen from the Turkmen population.
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