US military officials confirmed in remarks to Middle East media outlets on Monday a raid by American military helicopters on a Syrian village a day earlier.
The officials said the raid, which occurred more than five miles inside Syria, targeted "members of a logistic network of foreign fighters," and was made necessary by the Syrian regime's failure to stop the flow of weapons and insurgents into neighboring Iraq.
The aftermath of the raid was shown repeatedly on the evening edition of regional television news. Syrian officials interviewed by Middle East and Western media called the incident a "war crime," and said they hoped Iraq itself was not in any way involved.
A Syrian diplomat in London told the BBC that his nation reserves the right to retaliate.