U.S. Stages Raid Inside Syria?

The Syrian press is claiming U.S. forces launched a helicopter raid inside Syrian territory today. Ruh roh! SANA, the country's state-run news agency, said four US military helicopters 'violated Syrian airspace' at 4:45 p.m. local time. The report further claims that eight Syrian citizens were 'martyred' in the attack, allegedly launched from across the border in Iraq.

The Los Angeles Times reports a non-denial from the Pentagon:

Details were sketchy. In Washington, several military representatives asked about the operation did not deny that a raid had taken place. Although they would not confirm the attack, they used language typically employed after raids conducted by secretive Special Operations forces.

We contacted the duty officer at U.S. Central Command public affairs; he said he had "no information" on the incident. The latest update from SANA says that Syria's deputy foreign minister summoned the chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy in Damascus to protest the incident.

If the Syrian allegations are in fact true, the incident sounds very similar to some of the hot pursuit raids we've seen inside Pakistan in recent months. A helicopter-borne assault by U.S. and Afghan special operations inside Pakistan last month provoked a storm of protest from Islamabad, with Pakistan's Foreign Ministry complaining of a "gross violation of Pakistan's territory" and "a grave provocation." But beyond the rhetoric, there seemed to have been very little diplomatic fallout.

Lest we forget, there was also that Israeli air raid last September against a Syrian site that was supposed linked to clandestine nuclear activity. The site of this latest attack, according to the Los Angeles Times, is in the same vicinity as that strike.
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