E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSBAGHDAD, Iraq — At least 40 Syrian pro-government soldiers and officials were killed in an ambush in the Iraq's Anbar province on Monday, according to an Iraqi government official.
The Syrians had fled into Iraq after fighting anti-government forces in northern Syria, the source told NBC News, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Syrians, some of whom needed medical attention, handed themselves over to Iraqi authorities, he said.
The group deemed it was safer to return to Damascus by a circuitous route that entailed driving down to Baghdad and then back west to Syria, the official said. While the convoy was making its way through Anbar province — part of Iraq’s Sunni triangle and thus not allied with the Shiite-linked government of Syria's President Bashar Assad — it was ambushed by unknown Iraqi gunmen.
It is thought that at least 40 Syrian forces and officials and seven Iraqi soldiers escorting the foreigners were killed in the ambush.
Thousands of Iraqi Sunnis have been protesting for more than two months against Iraq's Shiite-led government and the perceived marginalization of their sect.
It is not known where the Syrians' bodies were.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
One does not travel to Anbar province simply to find another route to Syria without attracting some baddies.
Those Sunnis are just asking to be wiped out. Iraq is Shiite territory. Persia. Looks like this conflict just heated up a little more.
The whole thing that kicked off this war was the fact that every year 500,000 18 year olds were hitting the job market and Assad had no jobs to give them.
I imagine there will be plenty of jobs now. both construction and military. And with so many leaders being wiped out they should be able to save a fortune on government pensions.
I'm waiting for the fighting to spread to a Hezbollah vs. Hamas showdown.
Get your popcorn ready.
He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. Muslims killing Muslims. Pass me the popcorn.
I got popcorn with no salt , butter, palm oil, trans fat, caffeine, tobacco or THC in it. Small size-government issue.
But help yourself.
HONESTJ: But they are not killing each other enough.
When Muslims start cleaning their religion, Islam by killing each other some in the US, Britain, France, Germany and other places start worrying.
Or else, why John Kerry would try to help Morsi and Muslim Bloodhounds in Egypt, Sunni Syrian rebels with Islamic killing gangsters like al Qaida, MB, Salaffi and other ones, and have sanctions on oil to manipulate oil prices higher and higher such that oil rich Sunni Islamic rulers and fountainheads of all problems become richer and richer and deadlier and deadlier?
If by protesting you mean car bombing then I agree; but I guess you have to write it this way considering the US is and has been providing support for the car bombers.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/05/070305fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=all From 2007!
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that that IS the fanatical Islamic method of formal protest, given how the traditional celebratory gestures seem to involve firing automatic rifles into the air.
"The Syrians had fled into Iraq after fighting anti-government forces in northern Syria, the source told NBC News"
Just watch this disgraceful act of Syrian soldiers being killed in Iraq.
Are they soldiers or some used to battling females, minorities and unarmed?
When Shiites of Iran, Iraq and others bark, they bark loudest do dances as if they most brave.
When battling, it appears that they are most useless and coward.
Or else, in Bahrain (a Shiite majority nation) they would have a Shiite ruler!
You can't be surprised, the sunni Iraqis make up a nice hunk of the "anti-assad" forces in Syria.
Yeah but they are heavily outnumbered in Iraq.
More blood will spill in Iraq now for sure.
Our SUPER EMBASSY in Iraq better get ready for action.
It is the world's largest and holds more than 30,000 workers and troops.
Costing $1,000,000,000.00 a year.
Sunnis in Iraq form about 20 percent. Shiites form more than 50 percent.
Still it is Sunni, who are dictating terms in Iraq.
It is a disgrace and shame that Assad is not able to wipe out Sunni Syrian rebels and their gang of killers/Islamists like al Qaida, MB, Salaffi and others.
Everyone knows that Assad's people run the army and get Russian help!
These Sunni vs Shiites battles are proving that they can't even battle properly.
No wonder despite decades of battles between Saddam's Iraq and tenth century desert mindset "brave" Shiites of Ayotollahs, there was no clear winner!
Just watch how the "tenth century" Iranian monkeys with different poses, songs and dances provoke Israel, US and allies.
Harsh. You can run, but you can't hide!
Ha! What they attracted was Iranian mercenaries instructed to intercept rebel reinforcements, but the Iranians got the wrong guys. Karma is a real bitch!
Some of them can't even run or hide properly!
They appear to be expert in: telling lies, trying to fool (these days they end up fooling themselves), steal, hate, rape, kidnap, kill in a group and do genocides of unarmed poor minorities (including Muslim sects and tribes) and loot like brave people!
Some nice samples:
House of Sood consisting of a Wahhabi ruler with 5000 princes and princes and huge harems,
dancing and barking Ayotollahs giving Islamic religious orders,
on action always with by barking or poses, Mohammed Ahmedjani
and some more "brave" Mohammeds!
An unnamed source, smells like the CIA providing the news media with propoganda aimed at getting Americans to push for getting us into yet another war. Makes sense since we already have tons of equipment already over there . Notice, we the people are on to you. I suggest we send McCain and company over to help since he is one of the biggest hawks on the hill. I am sure they will be welcomed with open arms.LOL
You mean the "unnamed" Iraqi official? Oh, yeah, that's totally sketchy. Why would a government official know or relate an incident like that? And it's completely unthinkable that religious fanatics would attack someone traveling in a region as secure and peaceful as Iraq, even if they did happen to belong to an opposing Islamic sect.
I'm sure that despite your noble efforts to call out the media on their fabricated nonsense, some people will in fact be persuaded that this actually did happen, and then suddenly change their mind about whether or not the US should get involved based on a single small ambush by an Iraqi cell that has no implications for the US nor any substantial effect on the greater conflict! Shame that.
Ow. I think I blew a sarcasm fuse, there.
Justice is being paid on the Assad Administration for the murder of 70,000 Syrians over the last two years.
Absolute justice will be paid absolutely on the tyrannt and his court.
That 70,000 includes losses from both sides.
And losses from both sides should be laid at Assad's feet, since he is the root of this conflict. The Syrian army marches on his orders, and their blood is on his hands as much as the rebels'.
Ali al-Moussani,spokesman for Iraq PM al-Maliki tells AFP that the Syrian soldiers and government officials were in a convoy back to the Syrian border when they were ambushed inside Iraq- 48 Syrians dead incl. previously wounded soldiers- and 10 wounded- 9 Iraqis also dead. They were ambushed by unknown group with RPGs,bombs,gunfire. All the Syrian soldiers were disartmed . They took refuge in Iraq. Read http://france24.com/en/20130304-syrian-soldiers-killed-iraq-baghdad-resists-conflict-spillover.
Hooray! Can't see a bad side to this story; keep up the good work fellas!
The Sunni Triangle is not a good shortcut for Shiites to take.
They should have just kept going straight through to Iran.
I see a lot of people here automatically assuming that just because Assad's soldiers follow his orders, they must also automatically agree with his policies. You lot are sick bastards (or bitches as might be the case) who would cheer the death of those who ally themselves with those you dislike. And yet at the same time you decry those Muslims who hate westerners for doing the exact same thing. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.
You call them uncivilized barbarians and fanatics. They call you heathens and blasphemers.
Whether or not they agree with his policies, they're executing his orders to... well, execute his citizens.
I actually think their actions are more damning than their alliance. Plenty of soldiers have defected to the rebels.
These ones actually escaped Syria and were going back in order to continue working under Assad. So yeah, I'm not really interested in their particular thoughts on democracy, and wish them a good dirt nap.
It is a shame about those Iraqi soldiers, though. They didn't deserve to get caught up in this.
So, let me get this straight, Syrians have tried to spill their war into Lebanon, then Turkey, then Israel, and now Iraq.
Well, my guess is Iraq will give them the same answer as the other three: work it out amongst yourselves, kids.
x
Should be interesting when the whole oil producing area erupts into Shia vs Sunni and the US discovers that tar sands is not as game-changing as they thought.
Probably will be coincidentally timed with the downsizing of the US military.