Iraqi FM says Qaida militants crossing border to Syria

 BAGHDAD, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Thursday that members of al-Qaida militant¹ group have crossed border to Syria to carry out terrorist attacks.

"Yes indeed, we have solid information and intelligence that members of al-Qaida terrorist network have gone in the other direction to Syria to help and to liaise to carry out terrorist attacks," Zebari told reporters at a news conference here.

He said that Iraq has previously² warned the Syrian regime that extremist militants³ were crossing borders to Iraq to carry out deadly attack, but "now their direction is the other way round.""This is a fact that the extremist groups have an important role in the level of violence that is going on (in Syria)," Zebari added.

Another main concern in Iraq toward Syria's unrest is the spillover of extremist groups that could take route to neighboring countries, Zebari said. Zebari's comments came after his return to Baghdad following his participation⁴ in a meeting over Syria's crisis in Geneva of the so- called Action Group, which includes the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and four Middle-East states.

Zebari confirmed his country's long-standing position toward Syria's issue, which is built on supporting the political and democratic change in violence-shattered country.

Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has maintained close ties with Syria, whose President Bashar al-Assad is a member of the Alawite sect⁵, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

5 sect   

n.派别，宗教，学派，派系

参考例句：

• When he was sixteen he joined a religious sect.他16岁的时候加入了一个宗教教派。
• Each religious sect in the town had its own church.该城每一个宗教教派都有自己的教堂。