Syrians protest US raid amid heavy security

Tens of thousands of Syrians turned out on a central Damascus square for a massive government-orchestrated protest Thursday against a deadly US raid near the Iraqi border.

But the flag-waving crowds dispersed peacefully only a couple of hours later, with students heading to schools and employees to work.

The rally meant to exhibit the Syrians' backing for the government's stance in its crisis with Washington over Sunday's cross-border US military foray that Damascus says killed eight people.

The government has demanded Washington apologize for the helicopter strike of the Abu Kamal border community and threatened to cut off cooperation on Iraqi border security if there are more American raids on Syrian territory.

Authorities, however, took no chances the Thursday rally could get out of hand, and deployed hundreds of riot police around the shuttered and closed US Embassy.

The troops, wearing helmets and armed with batons and shields, ringed the embassy and the adjacent US residence building, while two fire engines were parked nearby, about a mile from the protest.

The embassy was closed because of security concerns related to the protest, and the American school was also shut for the day. Following the raid, Damascus ordered the closure of the school, expected within a week, and the immediate closing of the US cultural center linked to the embassy.

No violence was reported at Thursday's rally on the Youssef al-Azmi square and surrounding streets in the upscale al-Maliki neighborhood. Some young Syrians formed circles and danced traditional dances while women and students joined the peaceful crowds.

"America the sponsor of destruction and wars," read one banner carried by the protesters, who also totted pictures of President Bashar Assad. Another said: "We will not submit to terrorism."

Hussam Baayoun, a 20-year-old university student who took part at the rally, said the US raid was a, "criminal act" and added, "We want the Americans to stop their acts of terrorism in Syria, in Iraq and the rest of the world."

Although authorities usually keep Syria under tight control and Americans have generally felt welcome in the country, violence against US and European interests at protests has erupted in the past.

There has been no formal acknowledgment of the raid from Washington. But US officials, speaking to the media on condition of anonymity, have said the target of the raid was Badran Turki al-Mazidih, a top al-Qaeda figure in Iraq who operated a network of smuggling fighters into the war-torn country. The Iraqi national also goes by the name Abu Ghadiyah.

Syria insisted the dead were all Syrian civilians and has challenged Americans to provide evidence that its forces targeted a top al-Qaeda in Iraq operative.

Concerns over US citizens' security

"This aggression did not succeed," said Information Minister Mohsen Bilal. "It was supposed to yield a catch so that they could show it to the world ... But the catch turned out to be an innocent family."

Ahead of the rally, the US Embassy also warned Americans to be vigilant; raising concerns about the safety of US citizens in Syria.

In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said Wednesday that Syria had formally notified the US of the closure order for the cultural center, effective immediately, and the school by November 6.

Wood said Washington was considering how to respond and stressed the US expects the Syrian government to "provide adequate security for the buildings" housing the cultural center and the Damascus Community School.

Though Syria has long been viewed by the US as a destabilizing country in the Middle East, in recent months, Damascus has been trying to change its image and end years of global seclusion.

But American accusations that Syria wasn't doing enough to prevent foreign fighters from crossing its borders into Iraq, remains a sore point in relations. Syria says it is doing all it can to safeguard its long, porous border.