Syria: Berita 4 Mac 13

Dozens of Syrian troops killed in Iraq ambush

At least 42 Syrians and seven Iraqis are killed in Anbar by an attack on a convoy carrying troops who crossed into Iraq. Last Modified: 04 Mar 2013 17:18 Unidentified armed men have ambushed a convoy carrying Syrian soldiers who had crossed into Iraq from the site of weekend fighting, killing 42 Syrians and seven Iraqis, security officers said. The soldiers crossed into Iraq from the Yaarabiya border crossing, the scene of heavy fighting on Saturday between rebels and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, said Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Khalaf al-Dulaimi of the border protection forces on Monday. The soldiers were first transported by Iraqi authorities from Nineveh province to Baghdad, and they were on their way back to be handed over to Syrian authorities on the border with Anbar province in western Iraq when the attack took place, Dulaimi said. Armed men attacked the convoy from two sides with mortar rounds, automatic weapons and mines, killing 42 Syrian soldiers and seven Iraqis. Eight Syrians and four Iraqis were wounded, and three vehicles in the convoy destroyed, he said. Major Ali Juwair al-Dulaimi from Anbar Operations Command confirmed the toll. The past week has seen clashes between the Syrian army and rebels at the borders, which have brought the conflict close to Iraq. Opposition fighters seized control of half of the northeastern Syrian border town of Yaarabiya, including a shared crossing with Iraq, in a battle with forces loyal to Assad on Saturday. Earlier on Friday, A Scud missile fired from Syrian territory landed near a village opposite Yaarabiya, causing no damage but terrifying locals, according to the mayor of Telefar. The conflict in Syria has previously spilled into Iraq. In September, a five-year-old girl was killed when three rockets struck a border town in the al Qaim area. Iraq's precarious sectarian and ethnic balance has also come under strain from the conflict next door, where mainly Sunni Muslim insurgents are fighting to overthrow Assad, who is backed by Shia Iran. Earlier this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shia Muslim, warned that a victory for rebels in the Syrian civil war will spark a sectarian war in his own country, a civil war in Lebanon and a division in Jordan. - sumber