In a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council, Syria's foreign minister urged it to immediately hold a session to discuss Israel's action and to deter future strikes against Syria.

The foreign minister says Syria has practiced "the highest degree of self-restraint" but that Israel seeks to embroil the entire Middle East in its problems.

If Syria does not respond militarily to the strike -- as it appears it won't -- Israel will have succeeded in serving notice that it is prepared to strike at nations supporting militant groups as part of its campaign to halt violence against the Jewish state. ...

[Reportedly, the air strike injured one guard.]

The United States also accuses Syria of letting foreign fighters into Iraq to attack American troops, and the recent arrest of two U.S. servicemen with links to Syria have led to U.S. suspicions that Damascus is spying on Washington.