By Xinhua,
Damascus : The U.S. embassy in Syria said on Wednesday that it may close to the public for fearing retaliation following a Sunday deadly raid on Syrian border by U.S. troops in Iraq.
The U.S. embassy made the warning in a statement on its Website, calling on Americans in Syria to remain alert to review their personal security.
Unforeseen events may cause the U.S. embassy in Damascus to close to the public indefinitely following the Sunday raid on eastern Syria blamed by Damascus on Washington, said the statement.
Eight Syrian civilians were killed on Sunday in a U.S. cross-border helicopters attack in al-Sukkariah village in Abu Kamal near the border with Iraq, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported.
Syrian parties and civil associations are planning to stage a demonstration on Thursday to protest the raid, according to the independent al-Watan newspaper.
The U.S. State Department and White House refused to comment on the attack, making no confirmation or denial to the incident.
But U.S. officials explained that the raid killed a top operative of al-Qaida in Iraq who intelligence suggested was about to conduct an attack in Iraq.
On Tuesday, the Syrian cabinet decided to close a Damascus-based American school and a U.S. culture center in response to the U.S. attack.
In a letter sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council, Syria asked the UN to assume responsibilities to prevent reoccurrence of such dangerous violation and hold the aggressor responsible for killing innocent Syrian citizens.