Assad's Contribution

From Reuters (beware of their scare quotes): Syria: Red Cross Attack Harmed Iraqi Interests.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -- Syria condemned as "terrorism" Wednesday a deadly suicide attack on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Baghdad this week, saying such attacks harmed the Iraqi people's interests.

"Syria strongly condemns the destructive attack on the ICRC offices in Baghdad," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Bushra Kanafani said in remarks run by the official SANA news agency.

"Such operations that target innocent life and humanitarian and international organizations, severely harm the interests of the Iraqi people. They are terrorist acts," she said.

The attack on the ICRC was one of four suicide missions that killed 35 people and wounded 230 Monday in Baghdad's bloodiest day since Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

A U.S. general has said one attacker captured alive in an attempted suicide bombing on a police station on that day was carrying a Syrian passport.[Emphasis added]

President Bush has blamed violence in Iraq on members of Saddam's ousted Baath party and foreign "terrorists," and has said he expects Syria and Iran to enforce border controls to stop infiltrators.

Washington has accused the Damascus government of turning a blind eye to militants crossing into Iraq. Syria has also long been on the State Department's list of states that support terrorism.

Posted by Forkum at October 29, 2003 08:05 AM