WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (AFP) - Iraq's national security minister accused Syria and Iran of not doing enough to stop rebels at their borders amid a violent campaign to keep Iraqis from voting in national elections on Sunday.
"Unfortunately, we have two -- if I can put it in this way -- naughty boys, neighbors Iran and Syria. The insurgents mainly are crossing the border from the west," said Kasim Daoud, minister of state for national security.
Daoud, speaking via video link with reporters at the Pentagon, said supporters of ousted president Saddam Hussein as well as Islamic militants operated from Syria.
"Till now, we didn't get any good response from the Syrians, although our intelligence information, with very solid documents, shows the involvement of some of the Syrian security forces authorities' involvement in these activities," he said.
Iranian "interference" was most evident in Iraqi border provinces, the minister said.
"We are monitoring the penetration of many insurgent crossing the border," he said.
"And, again, we are using our diplomatic measures to treat this matter, and we hope that both countries may reach a sort of conclusion that the instability in Iraq will reflect negatively and badly toward the stability, not of Syria and Iran only, but to the whole area," he said.
Iraqis go to the polls Sunday to elect a national assembly but bombings and insurgent attacks have cast a pall over the process.
01/27/2005 17:30 GMT - AFP