Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Syria protested to the U.S., saying American military helicopters carried out a raid yesterday on its territory bordering Iraq that killed eight people.

The Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. envoy in Damascus to protest ``this dangerous aggression,'' Syria's state-run news agency, Sana, reported on its Web site.

U.S. government officials declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News. The raid targeted a network of al- Qaeda-linked fighters using Syria to reach Iraq, the Associated Press reported, citing a U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of raids across the border.

The U.S. has long pressed Syria to prevent fighters entering Iraq to join the Sunni-led insurgency. While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last month the government in Damascus has slowed the flow, relations between Syria and the U.S. have ``a long way to go.''

Four U.S. helicopters, flying from Iraq, fired on a civilian building in the al-Boukamal region, Sana said. Four children were among those killed, it said.

Syria ``holds the U.S. forces responsible for this aggression and its repercussions,'' the news agency said.

Protest to Iraq

Iraq's envoy in Damascus was also summoned by the Foreign Ministry and told Iraq must ``make an immediate investigation into this dangerous violation'' and prevent its territory being used to conduct aggression against Syria, according to Sana.

U.S. Defense Department spokesman Darryn James and White House press secretary Dana Perino declined to comment. State Department spokeswoman Joanne Moore and Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, also declined to comment. Johndroe said in an e-mail that it was ``unlikely'' he would have any comment later.

The area targeted is near the Iraqi city of Qaim where fighters cross into Iraq and weapons and money used to fuel the insurgency are brought into the country, AP reported.

U.S. soldiers are trying to secure the border with Syria, which has become an ``uncontrolled'' gateway for gunmen, AP cited Major General John Kelly, commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq, as saying last week.

Rice met last month for 10 minutes with her Syrian counterpart, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, during the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Syria's human rights record, its involvement in nuclear weapons and its support for groups the U.S. considers terrorist organizations, such as the Palestinian Hamas group and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are some of the issues standing in the way of improving relations, she said in a Sept. 29 interview with Bloomberg TV's ``Night Talk with Mike Schneider.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net; Jesse Westbrook in Washington at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 26, 2008 21:24 EDT