Iraq burns its bridges with Syria

DAMASCUS – Relations between Iraq and Syria plunged abruptly on Tuesday after Baghdad recalled its ambassador to Damascus over the recent bombings in the Iraqi capital in which 100 Iraqis were killed.

The attacks, which ripped through government buildings on August 19, were the worst in Iraq in over 12 months and came just a day after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki wrapped up a state visit to Syria. While there he boosted political and economic relations with Syria and jump-started bilateral committees to see that security is strongly monitored on the Syrian-Iraqi border.

Maliki blames both, while Defense Minister Abdul Qadir Obeidi said the weapons used for the attacks had been “made in Iran”. Syria’s name emerged rather suddenly on Sunday, when a former policeman appeared on Iraqi state-run media, claiming responsibility for the attacks, saying they had been ordered by two Saddam loyalists based in Syria.

The Iraqi government thus recalled its ambassador on Tuesday, asking that Syria extradite two men – Mohammad Yunis Ahmad and Satman Farhan – who are the alleged masterminds of the Baghdad bombings.

The Syrians were infuriated by the accusations, responding immediately by recalling their own diplomat, Nawwaf al-Fares, from Baghdad. A statement from Syria categorically rejected the Iraqi claims, reminding that “Syria had forcefully denounced this terrorist act which left victims among the Iraqi people”.

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