US commandoes have reportedly attacked a Syrian border town near Iraq, killing at least nine people and wounding 14 others.
According to the local residents, four US helicopters were involved in the attack on the town of Al-Sukkariya, eight kilometers from the Iraqi border, DPA reported on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses said two helicopters landed in the border town from which eight American commandoes disembarked. The US troops then attacked people, killing nine and wounding 14 others.
"Nine people were killed and 14 wounded in the raid, which hit a group of builders while they were working," the private television channel al-Dunia said. "All victims were civilians."
The victims were identified as construction workers with the wounded being transferred to a nearby hospital.
The helicopters reportedly left Syrian space with all the troops again on board.
Sergeant Brooke Murphy, a US military spokesman told AFP that the military was investigating the report.
SB/DT
According to the Syrian government, United States military helicopters attacked a farm on the Syria-Iraq border. Earlier media reports called the helicopters "unidentified" which came into Syria from Iraq. The attack has caused some diplomatic stirs, and the Syrian government has called in a diplomat from the U.S..

The BBC News agency reports, quoting Syrian media, that at least seven people were killed when the helicopters attacked a farm along the Bou Kamal border with Iraq in the Syrian town of Al-Sukkariya. Among the dead were a man, four of his sons, and two farm workers. Other reports say at least nine were killed. At least 14 others were injured. Syrian media says all of those killed were civilians.

One report from ''Trend News'' says that Lebanese officials confirm that the raid was carried out by U.S. troops and that they were targeting alleged terrorists preparing to infiltrate Iraq.

The Syrian government state the strike was carried out by the U.S. military. Witnesses near the attack also say the helicopters appeared to be American and involved at least four helicopters, two of which landed. Further witness reports say that at least eight American soldiers proceeded to get off the helicopters. After allegedly attacking their target, all the soldiers returned to the helicopters which took off and left Syria.

According to ''PRESS TV'', Sergeant Brooke Murphy, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, the military is investigating the incident. Meanwhile, Maura Connelly, a U.S. diplomat to Syria, was called to the country's foreign ministry to discuss the incident.

If the U.S. carried out the attack, it would be the first time any such attack was carried out inside Syria by U.S. forces.