Al-Qaeda man killed in Syria raids

Published: Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 7:23PM

A US raid in Syrian territory has killed a top al-Qaeda operative, according to military chiefs.

Abu Ghadiyah, reportedly the leader of a network that moves al-Qaeda foreign fighters into Iraq, was targeted in the airstrikes on Sukkariyeh on the Syrian/Iraqi border.

A US counter-terror official said the US had confirmed that Abu Ghadiyah was killed in the operation which was launched when intelligence emerged that he was planning an imminent attack on Iraq.

Amateur video footage purportedly taken at the scene showed military helicopters flying toward the site as villagers pointed to the skies.

The grainy video was taken by a villager on a mobile phone. It does not show the helicopters landing, but shows villagers pointing in alarm as they arrive overhead.

The Syrian government said four US military helicopters attacked a civilian building under construction shortly before sundown on Sunday in Sukkariyeh.

The amateur video also contains images purportedly of the immediate aftermath of the attack. A large crowd can be seen at the site standing around bloodied bodies.

A Syrian government statement said eight people were killed, including a man, his four children and a woman.

Local officials said seven men were killed and two other people were wounded.

A US military official in Washington confirmed that special forces had conducted a raid in Syria that targeted the network of al-Qaeda-linked foreign fighters moving through Syria into Iraq.

Syria's foreign minister Walid al-Moallem said the attack was "criminal and terrorist aggression," and he warned of retaliation if its borders were violated again.

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