Iraq adds police at Syrian border after U.S. raid

BAGHDAD – Iraq sent police reinforcements Saturday to the Syrian border after last weekend’s U.S. raid against an alleged al-Qaida hideout in Syria raised tension between the two countries, officials said.

Police Col. Jubair Rashid Naief said a police quick reaction force for Anbar province moved to the border town of Qaim, about 200 miles northwest of Baghdad, to prevent al-Qaida from moving into the area from Syria.

Al-Arabiya television quoted witnesses as saying scores of armored vehicles were seen moving from the Anbar provincial capital of Ramadi to Qaim, which had been a major al-Qaida stronghold until Anbar’s Sunni tribes turned against al-Qaida.

The police moves follow last Sunday’s bold U.S. raid on the Syrian border town of Abu Kamal, during which U.S. officials say they killed a top al-Qaida militant who operated a network of smuggling fighters into Iraq.