DAMASCUS, Aug 13 (AFP) - Syria is "deeply disturbed" by the fighting in the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Najaf, and especially by the US raids, an official said here.
"Syria is deeply disturbed by the military escalation in Iraq, especially the American raids on Najaf and other Iraqi cities," said the unidentified official quoted by the Sana news agency.
He added that Syria was "worried about the growing number of civilian victims."
The US army carried out a massive assault Thursday on Najaf, home to the Imam Ali shrine, revered by Shiites the world over.
Thousands of US forces, backed by Iraqi police and national guard, mounted a pincer assault to trap Moqtada Sadr`s fighters in the heart of the city, before going on to raid the militia leader`s home, which was unoccupied.
Further north, in Kut, which fell briefly to the Mehdi Army in Sadr`s spring uprising against the US-led occupation, heavy overnight US bombing killed 84 people and wounded 176, medics said.
Twenty-four hours of nationwide fighting in Iraq, mostly in the Shiite south and Sadr`s Baghdad stronghold, has claimed 165 lives and wounded 594, the health ministry said.