BBC reports on this incident suggest that this was the first known incursion of U.S. forces into Syrian territory. This is not so. On June 18, 2003, just three months after the war began, U.S. forces fired upon a convoy of vehicles believed to contain members of the recently deposed Iraqi leadership who were traversing the border from Iraq to Syria. Some U.S. troops crossed the border into Syria in pursuit, and some Syrian border guards were injured in the fracas. Throughout the next month, tensions between American troops along the Iraq-Syria border and local residents escalated amidst charges that the Americans were disrupting cross border visits and what had been a lively smuggling trade (New York Times, July 15, 2003).
BBC Middle East- January 9th 2009
UN agency to resume Gaza aid work
The UN says its main aid agency in Gaza will resume operations there after receiving safety assurances from Israel. - January 7th 2009
Canada expels US woman deserter
A US army deserter and mother of three is ordered to leave Canada after her appeal for refuge fails. - January 6th 2009
Women banned from Baghdad shrine
Iraqi authorities close a major Shia shrine in Baghdad to women amid security concerns as the rite of Ashura reaches its climax. - January 6th 2009
Blackwater men plead not guilty
Five employees of US security firm Blackwater plead not guilty in a US court to the manslaughter of 17 Iraqis in 2007. - January 9th 2009
Israel 'shelled civilian shelter'
Israeli soldiers shelled a Gaza house they had moved 110 Palestinians into, killing 30, the UN quotes witnesses as saying. - January 9th 2009
Saudi tanker 'freed off Somalia'
A supertanker is released by Somali pirates after a ransom is dropped onto the ship by parachute, reports say. - January 8th 2009
Gaza 'human shields' criticised
A rights groups accuses Israel and Hamas of endangering civilian lives in the conflict in Gaza, including the use of "human shields". - January 8th 2009
Israel accused over Gaza wounded
The Red Cross accuses Israel of failing to help wounded civilians in Gaza, as the UN suspends aid work there fearing attacks. - January 7th 2009
Israel accepts truce 'principles'
Israel says it accepts the principles of a truce plan for Gaza but its military offensive against Hamas has resumed. - January 8th 2009
Mummy of 'lost queen of Egypt' recovered after 4,300 years
Mummy of 'lost queen of Egypt' recovered after 4,300 years
- January 9th 2009
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