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Syria Says Border Troops Fired On by U.S. Forces
(Reuters) Inal Ersan - Syria said on Thursday its border troops had been fired on by U.S. and Iraqi forces. The Foreign Ministry told heads of diplomatic missions in Damascus that Syrian border troops had been subject to attacks "not only by infiltrators and smugglers but by the Iraqi and American forces." "The border clashes amounted to about 100 armed clashes, some of which were carried out by American soldiers who opened fire arbitrarily at those present behind the dirt rampart," said the ministry. U.S. officials accuse Syria of not doing enough to stop insurgents from crossing into Iraq to fight U.S. and Iraqi forces and often say that guerrillas are using Syria as a conduit for the transfer of funds to fuel the insurgency. "Syria...needs to take steps to go after those...elements that may be operating on their territory," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "Syria has been out of step with the rest of the Middle East," said McClellan.