国际英语新闻：Syria condemns U.S. "terrorist aggression"

LONDON, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on Monday condemned the United States for its "terrorist aggression" on Syria after the U.S. launched a raid on a village near the Syria-Iraq border killing eight civilians.

    "The Americans do it in the daylight, this means it is not a mistake, it's by blunt determination. For that we consider this criminal and terrorist aggression. We put the responsibility on the American government," al-Muallem said at a press conference in London after talks with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

    "Killing civilians in international law means a terrorist aggression," said he, adding that Syria would "defend our territories" if the U.S. launched a similar operation again.

    On Sunday, U.S. forces ferried by helicopter crossed five miles into Syria from Iraq and launched a commando raid that left at least eight people dead.

    The raid was directed at a network that used to send fighters from North Africa and the Middle East to Syria, where elements of the Syrian military are in league with al-Qaida and other fighters, the U.S. officials claimed.