Iraq beefs up Syrian border presence

BAGHDAD, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- An Iraqi official says the government has sent hundreds of police officers to the Syrian border to head off the infiltration of foreign insurgents.

An Interior Ministry official said Sunday that about 500 troops from the national police force have been dispatched to the area around the border city of Qaim.

The move comes a week after the United States raided a Syrian village believed to be a staging area for infiltrators commanded by al-Qaida.

CNN said the raid prompted Syrian border guards to withdraw from a number of positions that will be re-occupied by the newly arriving Iraqi forces.