Beirut - Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Seniora denounced Monday the US helicopter-borne commando raid in Syria which allegedly targeted the al-Qaeda-linked insurgents streaming into Iraq.

According to Syria, eight people, including a married couple and their four children were killed in the raid on a building in the village of Al-Sukkariya, some eight kilometres from the country's border with Iraq.

"The raid by US helicopters on Syrian territory ... constitutes a violation of Syrian sovereignty and thus is a dangerous, unacceptable attack that we condemn," a statement from Seniora's office said.

"Any military attack against an Arab country or on a small country by a larger country is an act we reject," the statement added.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh also condemned the raid, rejecting it as a violation of international law.

The Syrian government described the raid as "serious aggression" and said a civilian building under construction had been targeted.

Witnesses have told of at least four helicopters having flown along the Euphrates river into the area of farms and brick factories. (dpa)