海角大神

鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Dozens of Syrian Army soldiers were killed in an ambush after seeking refuge in Iraq yesterday, amplifying concerns of Syrian violence spilling across its borders and destabilizing its neighbors.

The soldiers were attacked in Anbar province with bombs, grenades, and gunfire while being transported back into Syria by the Iraqi Army, reports The Associated Press. An estimated 48 Syrian soldiers, who were seeking a temporary reprieve from fighting with rebels over the border, and at least six Iraqi military personnel were killed. It was聽the first such killing of Syrians in Iraq since the conflict began two years ago, reports The Wall Street Journal.聽

It is unclear who was responsible for the ambush, but Jassim al-Halbousi, provincial council member in Anbar, told the Associated Press, 鈥淭his attack bears the hallmarks of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization,鈥� adding that the borders need to be secured 鈥渁t the highest level of alert.鈥�

At the time of the ambush, the Syrian soldiers were being transported to a different border crossing, south of where they originally entered the country. According to AP, the Iraqi government insists it allowed the soldiers into the country on "humanitarian grounds" and is "not picking sides in the Syrian conflict."

"We do not want more soldiers to cross our borders and we do not want to be part of the problem," said Ali al-Moussawi, a聽spokesman for Iraq鈥檚 prime minister. "We do not support any group against the other in Syria."

The Wall Street Journal reports that state-owned Iraqia Television broadcast a ministry of defense statement warning "all fighting sides in Syria not to move their armed conflict into Iraqi lands, or violate the security of the Iraqi border.鈥�

The New York Times reports that Iraq has said it will deploy more soldiers to its border with Syria, raising fears among Middle East experts that Iraq, still fragile from its own sectarian war, will become further embroiled in the conflict next door. According to the Times, 鈥淭he attack threatens to inflame the sectarian tensions that already divide Iraq, where a Sunni minority sympathizes with Syria鈥檚 overwhelmingly Sunni opposition.鈥�

Middle East analyst Juan Cole wrote today that the violent spillover into Iraq is a concerning development for regional sectarian violence.

Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and author of the influential blog Syria Comment, told the Times, 鈥淎 number of us have been saying that Iraq is the one most affected by the meltdown in Syria.鈥�

Mr. Landis added that, 鈥淚n that region, the tribes go right across the Syrian border, and most of the people are related by blood.鈥�They鈥檙e in one common struggle.鈥�

Toby Dodge, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics, told AP that the fact that the soldiers were allowed to enter Iraq in the first place worries him.

"If this goes on, al-Maliki's government is aligning itself with Iran and the Assad regime against the rest of the Middle East and the will of the Syrian people," Mr. Dodge said. "That is a huge gamble."

Unlike Iran and Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, Maliki has not expressed 鈥渙utright support鈥� for President Bashar al-Assad鈥檚 regime, the Times reports.

Others in the region are concerned about spillover as well, with Israel telling the United Nations Security Council yesterday that it can鈥檛 be expected to do nothing as the Syrian conflict breaches its borders, according to Reuters.聽鈥淚srael cannot be expected to stand idle as the lives of its citizens are being put at risk by the Syrian government's reckless actions," Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor wrote to the Security Council. "Israel has shown maximum restraint thus far."

Errant Syrian fire has landed in Israeli territory multiple times since the conflict began. 海角大神 reported last week that Israel has taken steps to prepare the border region for the possibility of violence, installing a new fence and surveillance cameras and the deploying troops in the area.聽

Violence 鈥� which has killed at least 70,000 people since the conflict began in 2011 鈥� isn鈥檛 the only thing reaching into neighboring countries. The UN expects the number of refugees, who have settled mainly in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon, to reach 1 million this week, reports The Washington Post.