Intel: Syrian raid against al-Qaida

ABU KAMAL, Syria, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. military raid into Syria that left at least 14 dead targeted a senior leader of an al-Qaida network in the country, senior intelligence officers said.

U.S. intelligence officers who spoke to The Long War Journal in the United States on condition of anonymity said the raid Sunday targeted Abu Ghadiya, or Badran Turki Hishan al-Mazidih, an Iraqi believed to be the head of the Syrian al-Qaida network.

Four U.S. military helicopters carrying ground troops crossed the Iraqi border into Syria Sunday in pursuit of their targets. It was not apparent if Ghadiya was apprehended during the raid.

Washington blames Damascus for harboring foreign fighters who enter Iraq through the porous Syrian border. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Monday several fighters from Syria had entered the country recently, killing several members of the Iraqi security forces.

U.S. Maj. Gen. John Kelly, with Multi-National Force-West, said in a recent statement the Syrian government was neglectful in its responsibility to prevent al-Qaida operatives from using their country as a base to enter Iraq.

A report by The Jamestown Foundation in Washington said last week, however, that Syrian President Bashar Assad had bowed to U.S. pressure by containing a significant portion of the foreign fighters inside the country.

Syria Monday reacted angrily to the U.S. raid, calling it an act of terrorism.