The Syrian government has condemned the United States for carrying out a daytime helicopter-borne raid that killed eight people. It marked the first time US ground forces had crossed the Syrian border since the US invasion of Iraq. The Syrian government has warned of retaliation if the US strikes again.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem: “Killing civilians in international law means terrorist aggression. The Americans do it under daylight. This means it is not mistake. It is by determination, by blunt determination. For that, we consider this criminal and terrorist aggression.”

The Bush administration has not said anything publicly about the cross-border raid. Unnamed US officials said the special operations forces targeted and killed an Iraqi militant known as Abu Ghadiya, who was responsible for running weapons, money and foreign fighters across the border into Iraq. Local eyewitnesses blamed the US commandos for killing eight civilians.

Syrian Woman: “I was in the farm when four planes came. Two of them landed, and the other two kept flying and started to shoot at us. My son came and tried to save his father. When I woke up, I saw I was in the hospital.”

Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa condemned the US attack as a violation of Syrian sovereignty. The New York Times reports the raid appears to reflect an intensifying effort by the Bush administration to find a way during its waning months to attack militants even beyond the borders of Iraq and Afghanistan. Seven weeks ago, US commandos carried out a similar raid in Pakistan. Bush administration officials have defended the actions, citing an expansive definition of self-defense that allows US forces to strike militant targets anywhere.