Iraq sent police reinforcements today to the Syrian border after last weekend’s US raid against an alleged al-Qaida hideout in Syria raised tension between the two countries, officials said.

TENS of thousands of Syrians turned out yesterday for a huge government-orchestrated protest against a deadly US raid near the Iraqi border.

Syria’s state-run television and witnesses say US military helicopters have attacked an area along the country’s border with Iraq, causing casualties.

The US has returned five Syrian border guards wounded during a gun battle on the Iraqi border earlier this month.