Dubai - Syria has frozen its ties with Iraq following a cross-border attack by US forces on a Syrian village, the Dubai-based al-Arabiya news network reported Friday.

It said the Iraqi charge d'affaires had been summoned to the Syrian Foreign Ministry in Damascus and told that economic cooperation was being frozen, as was cooperation between security services.

Syria says eight civilians were killed in Sunday's cross-border, helicopter-backed attack on the village of al-Sukkariya, while witnesses said seven people were killed and one man was abducted.

Thousands of people marched in the streets of Damascus on Thursday to protest the raid. Protestors included dozens of students from the Syrian region of Bokmal, the location of Sunday's raid.

They protested near the US embassy, which was surrounded by Syrian riot police and closed for the day.

The US government has not commented officially on the raid, but unofficial reports say an al-Qaeda terrorist was killed or wounded in the attack. (dpa)