Iraq sent police reinforcements on Saturday to the Syrian border after last weekend’s US raid against an alleged al-Qaeda hideout in Syria raised tensions between the two countries, officials said.
Police Colonel Jubair Rashid Naief said a police quick reaction force for Anbar Province moved to the border town of Qaim, about 320km northwest of Baghdad, to prevent al-Qaeda from moving into the area from Syria.
Al-Arabiya television quoted witnesses as saying scores of armored vehicles were seen moving from the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi to Qaim, which had been a major al-Qaeda stronghold until Anbar’s Sunni tribes turned against the terrorist group.
The police moves follow the bold US raid on the Syrian border town of Abu Kamal on Oct. 26, during which US officials say they killed a top al-Qaeda militant who operated a network smuggling fighters into Iraq.
The US has not officially acknowledged the attack. Syria says eight civilians were killed and has branded the raid as aggression.
Damascus has demanded that Washington apologize for the strike and has threatened to cut off cooperation on Iraqi border security in response to the attack. Last week, Syria sent additional troops to the border following the raid, but has since withdrawn them.
The Iraqi government has rejected the attack, but has urged Syria to crack down on organizations in its territory that are trying to hurt Iraq.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari voiced confidence that the raid would not damage relations, saying there was “good understanding to overcome this crisis.”
Also on Saturday, unknown assailants gunned down a policeman on a foot patrol along Palestine Street in Shiite eastern Baghdad, police said.
In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide bomber slammed his car into a police patrol, killing himself and injuring one officer, provincial police said.
The police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Violence is down sharply in Iraq since the Sunni revolt against al-Qaeda and the routing of Shiite militias in Baghdad last spring.
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