Attack designed to widen Mideast conflict -Syria

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused Israel of trying to drag the Middle East into wider conflict in his first public…

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused Israel of trying to drag the Middle East into wider conflict in his first public comments about the weekend Israeli air strike near Damascus.

In an interview published with al-Hayatdaily newspaper, President Assad said Syria would not yield to US demands to expel Palestinian organisations.

"[The raid] is an attempt by the Israeli government to extract itself from its big crisis by trying to terrorise Syria and drag it and the region into other wars," he said.

"This [Israeli] government is one of war and war is the justification for its existence."

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Israel attacked a site near Damascus on Sunday, alleging it was a training camp for Palestinian militants, a day after a suicide attack in Haifa, Israel, killed 19 people. Syria said the raid was on "a civilian location" northwest of the capital.

It was Israel's deepest raid into Syria since the 1973 Middle East war.

"There is no doubt that Syria's role in various issues in our region is painful for this [Israeli] government. What happened is a failed Israeli attempt to thwart this role, and we can say with all confidence that what happened will only make this role more effective in regional events," Mr Assad said.

Syria has asked the UN Security Council to condemn the raid and urged Washington not to block its resolution. Damascus called an emergency council meeting on Sunday, but Washington, which has a veto, said it would not support a resolution that condemned the raid.

Washington said Israel should not feel constrained in defending itself but told Israel and Syria to avoid escalation.

Israel said it did not intend to pick a fight with Syria but the air raid should serve as a warning for it to stop Palestinian militants operating on Syrian territory.

Syrian Information Minister Ahmad al-Hassan told the newspaper, Asharq al-Awsat, today that the raid hit an abandoned building in which one guard was injured.

He said footage of a training camp released by Israeli army was "doctored to give Israel an excuse to carry out its attack".

Syria denies links to "terrorist groups" but says it backs legitimate resistance to Israeli occupation. It says Palestinian militant groups only have media offices on its territory.

Mr Assad said a main US demand on Syria was for it to deport Palestinian groups there, but that Damascus would not do so.