Iraq's prime minister has called on Syria to block the infiltration of foreign fighters trying to start a civil war.
In a message aimed at Syria, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said non-Iraqis in neighbouring countries filtering across the border were responsible for carrying out "sabotage activities".
He said his government will do its best "to preserve relations between us and our neighbours, but there are red lines — which are that they don't interfere in our internal affairs, or allow people to cross" into Iraq, he said after a meeting with visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.
More than a dozen Iraqis, including an Oil Ministry engineer, and four US soldiers were reported killed yesterday.
Earlier this week, Mr al-Jaafari pledged to use "an iron fist" to prevent an outbreak of sectarian violence, which he has accused supporters of Iraq's top al-Qaeda terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, of trying to foment.
Mr Zoellick said he and Mr al-Jaafari discussed the issue of insurgents crossing into Iraq "and he was quite strong in his statements about the need for Iraq's neighbours, and particularly Syria . . . not to undermine stability here".
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made it "quite clear that we, and others, are watching how Syria behaves itself," Mr Zoellick said.
The Syrian government has not commented on allegations that foreign fighters are both slipping into Iraq across its shared border and holding clandestine planning meetings in its country.
But in February, Syria captured and handed over Saddam Hussein's half brother in what Iraq called a gesture of goodwill.
AP