Syria, Iran vow to confront US, Israel

DAMASCUS—Regional allies Syria and Iran voiced their determination on Thursday to bolster their economic and political ties to overcome their common foes, Israel and the United States.
“We will continue to reinforce strategic cooperation in all sectors with our brothers in Iran because we are in the same trench, confronted to an abject and greedy enemy,” Syrian Prime Minister Naji Otri said in reference to Israel and the United States.
“Cooperation between Syria and Iran could serve as an example for relations between Iran and Arab countries,” Otri told a news conference with Iranian First Vice President Parviz Davoudi The Iranian official described ties between Tehran and Damascus as “strategic, warm and privileged” and said his country was “working hard to develop ties with Syria.”
Davoudi also had talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on bilateral cooperation and regional developments, including the situation in the Israeli-occupied territories, state-run SANA news agency said.
The United States has repeatedly accused Syria and Iran of fueling insecurity in Iraq and meddling in Lebanon’s presidential crisis — charges the two allies have firmly denied.
U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 11 suspected insurgents and detained 44 others in raids targeting al-Qaida in central and northern Iraq, the U.S. military said Thursday. Three Iraqi troops were killed in one of the operations.
The Tal Afar Special Weapons and Tactics team, made up of U.S. forces and Iraqi SWAT teams, on Sunday targeted a cell responsible for assassinations and bombing attacks in the Tal Afar area in Iraq’s Ninevah province, the military said in a statement.
During the raid, several fighters opened fire on the Iraqi and U.S. troops, killing the three Iraqi soldiers and wounding three others.
The U.S.-Iraqi team killed nine suspected insurgents. Three Iraqi civilians were wounded and treated at the scene and eight suspected cell members were detained for questioning, including two who were wounded and evacuated to a military hospital for treatment, the military said.
During the operation, the team found bomb-making materials, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, rifles, grenades, a landmine and ammunition, according to the statement. Davoudi also had talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on bilateral cooperation and regional developments, including the situation in the Israeli-occupied territories, state-run SANA news agency said.
The Americans and their Iraqi allies are pushing to take control of the Ninevah region, where insurgent fighters are making a stand after their influence diminished in Baghdad and other areas last year. Tal Afar is located about 260 miles northwest of Baghdad.
In another operation, U.S. soldiers shot and killed a man who drew a pistol on them and then tried to detonate a bomb-laden suicide vest. Three suspected al-Qaida members were also detained during the operation near the central city of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.
Another al-Qaida suspect who was also killed near Samarra was allegedly involved in racketeering and embezzlement to fund the extremist organization.