Arab League enters Iraq-Syria fray

CAIRO, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Arab leaders called on Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to take part in discussions with Syrian officials in an effort to ease bilateral tensions.

Arab ministers are set to take up the matter of Syrian-Iraqi relations during their regular meeting in Cairo this week.

A series of coordinated attacks rocked Baghdad on Aug. 19, killing more than 100 and wounding perhaps thousands. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki accuses Syria of harboring Baath Party loyalists, which Baghdad claims coordinated the attacks.

Iraq asked Syria to hand over Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed and Satam Farhan, high-ranking Baath leaders, for their alleged role in the bombings.

Damascus denied the Baghdad claims on several occasions. A branch of al-Qaida in Iraq issued separate claims of responsibility for the attack.

Iranian and Turkish officials worked independently to ease the tensions, while Arab League ministers have included the issue on a modified agenda, Iraqi satellite channel al-Sumaria reports.

Iraqi security forces, meanwhile, descended on the western province of Anbar, however, in an effort to tighten security along the porous border with Syria. Baghdad claims it scrambled its forces to the border to prevent foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq.