WASHINGTON - The White House on Wednesday urged Syria to expel terrorist groups that Washington says are operating inside its territory.
Spokesman Scott McClellan also renewed accusations implicating the Damascus-based Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in last week's bombing in Tel Aviv.
"Syria continues to support terrorism, Syria continues to allow its territory to be used by terrorists. We have firm evidence now that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad out of Damascus was involved in planning the attack in Tel Aviv. It is unacceptable that terrorists are allowed to operate out of Syrian territory," McClellan said.
"Syria is a country which is very controlled and the Syrian governement needs to act against those terrorists and shut them down, and get them out of the country," he said.
On Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's claim that some 14,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon will leave in coming months McClellan said: "We need to see by the actions not by their words that they are going to change their behaviour and that they are going to withdraw from Lebanon. We also need to see action on other fronts as well.
"Syria is a country that is out of step with the way the Middle East is moving. The Middle East is moving on democratic reforms in many areas and that is a very positive sign," the spokesman said, adding: "Syria continues to be out of step with these efforts."
03/02/2005 20:23 GMT