Al Qaeda says it killed 51 Syrian soldiers in Iraq

March 12, 2013 02:25

Al Qaeda's Iraq branch has claimed responsibility for the deaths of 51 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqis killed in a well-planned assault in western Iraq last week, intensifying concerns that the terror group is coordinating with Islamist rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Iraqi authorities say fighters and weapons are moving increasingly more freely across the long and porous desert border between the two countries as Syrian rebels try to consolidate control on their side of the frontier.

The issue also plays into the conflict between Iraq's Shiite-led government and Sunni insurgents, particularly Al Qaeda.

Iraq officially has not taken sides in the Syria civil war, though Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned in an interview with The Associated Press this month that a victory for rebels would create a new extremist haven and spark

sectarian wars in his own country and in Lebanon.

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