Iraqi leader asks Syria to control infiltration

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit Friday.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The Iraqi prime minister demanded Friday that Syria do more to keep foreign fighters from crossing into western Iraq, where U.S. troops are battling Al-Qaida-led forces. Five more American service members were reported killed.
Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, appearing with visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, told reporters it was "no secret" that foreign fighters were using Syrian territory to enter Iraq, and the government had implored the Syrians to crack down on such movements.
"So we ask why the Syrians are not responding to our people's demands," al-Jaafari said. "We demand that they control their borders, prevent infiltration and terrorism. We want good relations with Syria, but this cannot be achieved when such violations exist."
U.S. offensive
U.S. troops launched a major offensive last week against Al-Qaida-led fighters near the border with Syria, an area the U.S. command describes as the major entry point for foreign Islamic extremists responsible for many of the suicide attacks that have killed hundreds of Iraqis in recent weeks.
The American command reported Friday that a Marine was killed the day before in a roadside bombing in Karabilah, about 200 miles west of Baghdad and one of the main border area villages where the extremists operate.
Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed Thursday by small arms fire during combat operations in Khaldiyah, 55 miles west of Baghdad, the military said. Two other American soldiers died in a traffic accident northwest of Kirkuk, the military said.
The deaths brought the number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003 to 2,061, according to an Associated Press count.
Syria maintains it has tried to curb infiltration across its borders and has accused U.S. and Iraqi forces of failing to do their part to control the long desert frontier. The Syrians insist allegations against them are part of a U.S. media campaign to discredit their government for opposing the Iraq war.
More violence
Elsewhere, three Iraqi police officers were killed Friday when their vehicle was ambushed near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
In Baghdad, gunmen fired on the compound of the Embassy of Oman, killing two people and wounding two others -- the second fatal shooting involving employees of Arab embassies in Baghdad this week.
On Wednesday, a driver for the Sudanese Embassy was shot to death in the same part of the capital, and last month two employees of the Moroccan Embassy were abducted on a highway in western Iraq.
Al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for abducting the Moroccans, as well as for the July kidnap-slaying of three Arab diplomats -- two Algerians and one Egyptian -- in Baghdad.
Rice visits
In an unannounced and heavily guarded visit to the country Friday, Rice pressed for unity among Iraq's religious factions.
Rice made a personal appeal to Sunni Arabs to participate in new elections in December, but she sounded cool to an outside Arab attempt to foster political reconciliation. She also chided Iraq's Arab neighbors for being slow to send ambassadors to post-Saddam Iraq.
"We do support the principles of democracy and support efforts to bridge the differences among Iraqis," Rice said following a meeting with al-Jaafari.
She also met behind closed doors in Baghdad with several prominent Sunni Arab leaders, including tribal leader and Vice President Ghazi al-Yawer.
Earlier, she met with Sunni and other leaders in the ethnically split northern city of Mosul, where Sunnis make up about 60 percent of the population.
Divisions "may be differences of history or tradition, culture or ethnicity, but in a democratic process these differences can be a strength rather than a handicap," Rice said.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.