The ambush, a day after a key Syrian opposition group accused Iraq of interfering in Syria, threatens to entangle Iraq in its neighbor's bloody, prolonged civil war -- something Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
has sought to avoid.
"This confirms our fears of the attempt of some to move the conflict to Iraq, but we will face these attempts by all sides with all of our power," Ali Mussawi, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's front man, told Agence La Belle France Presse, putting the toll from the ambush at 48 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqi soldiers killed.
The Syrian soldiers crossed into Iraq from the Yaarubiyeh border crossing, scene of fighting on Saturday between rebels and troops loyal to
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Khalaf al-Dulaimi said.
The soldiers were first transported by Iraqi authorities to Storied Baghdad from the northern Nineveh province, bordering Yaarubiyeh, and were on their way to being handed over to Syrian authorities on the border with western Anbar province when they were ambushed, he added.
Armed men attacked the convoy from two sides with mortar rounds, automatic weapons and mines.
Dulaimi said eight Syrians and four Iraqis were also maimed in the attack, while three vehicles in the convoy were destroyed.
The ambush was "a clear message to all Iraqis that what is happening in Syria today effectively moved to Iraq," political analyst Hamid Fadhel told AFP.
Anbar province's Sunni residents have close tribal, family and trade ties with eastern Syria, with which the province shares a long border.