Iraq halts air link with Syria

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq indefinitely halted all flights to and from Syria and closed a border crossing with Iran as the government prepares for a new security crackdown aimed at crushing violence in the capital and surrounding regions, a member of parliament and an airport official said Wednesday.

The airport official said flights to and from Syria would be canceled for at least two weeks and that service had been interrupted on Tuesday. The actions were seen as a signal to both countries not to interfere in Iraq's affairs as U.S. and Iraqi forces prepare for the major crackdown on armed groups in the capital.

Syria is said to be harboring former Baath party officials from Saddam Hussein's regime who support the Sunni insurgency and has been accused of allowing foreign fighters to slip across its border. And U.S. officials have complained that Iran smuggles weapons to Shiite extremists who have killed Americans and provides Shiite militia with training and support.

Syrian authorities on Wednesday denied reports that it had halted Iraqi Airways flights but said it would bar landings by Iraqi airliners lacking "safety requirements" or those arriving without advance permission.

Iraqi Airways is now the only airline linking the Syrian and Iraqi capitals.

The U.N. says about 1 million Iraqis have fled to Syria, which has become the refuge of choice because of its relaxed entry regulations for Arabs, the relatively low cost of living and availability of schools and health care.

Hassan al-Sunneid, a legislator and member of the parliament Defense and Security Committee, refused to confirm reports that Syrian border crossings also would be closed, saying only that "more decisions would be taken."

Iraq said last week that closures of Iranian crossings involved border checkpoints ahead of the Ashoura festivities, the Shiite ceremony in which tens of thousands of pilgrims — many from Iran — descend on Karbala.

Also

U.S. casualties: A U.S. soldier wounded in fighting in Anbar province Tuesday died today, the miliary said. Two more soldiers and a Marine were reported killed in Anbar the previous day.

One U.S. soldier was killed and another injured in combat Wednesday in Salahuddin province, U.S. command said. As of today, at least 3,084 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war.

Car bombings: At least five people were killed when a car bomb exploded in a downtown street where a crowd was waiting for taxis to take them to east Baghdad. A car bomb in a mostly Shiite neighborhood of the capital and mortar attacks on a mostly Sunni area killed at least eight people and injured 28.

Scholars slain: The bodies of three Sunni professors and a student were found days after they were seized while leaving Nahrain University's law school in northern Baghdad, according to the Ministry of Higher Education.