WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Syria has been warned of heightened sanctions by the Bush administration if it continues assisting Iraqi insurgents, the New York Times said Wednesday.
Among the steps being considered is a Treasury Department action that could isolate the Syrian banking system, Washington sources told the newspaper.
U.S. officials have been seeking a Syrian crackdown on the insurgents for several months with no success, based on intelligence that Syria's role in the Iraq insurgency is greater than first thought.
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the No. 2 official in Iraq under Saddam Hussein and now the most-wanted Iraqi still sought by the United States, is known to have traveled in and out of Syria repeatedly in the last 18 months, U.S. officials said.
U.S. and Syrian officials have held a series of meetings in recent months to address their differences, but Syrian officials have sought to rebuff criticism by saying the United States has yet to provide them with sufficient, accurate information necessary to prompt action against individual Iraqis.
