Beirut - Syrian authorities have asked the staff of the American school and cultural centre in Damascus to leave Syria within 48 hours, Lebanese radio reported Monday.

A week ago, Damascus ordered the closure of the facilities, in what appeared to be a response to a US commando raid inside Syria on October 26.

Syria says four helicopters attacked a building near its border with Iraqi, killing eight people. Washington has not formally acknowledged the raid, but US officials say the target was a top al- Qaeda figure in Iraq.

London  - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem Monday accused the US of "criminal and terrorist aggression" by launching a raid on civilians in which seven people, including three children, were killed.

Speaking at a news conference in London, al-Muallem urged the US government and the government of Iraq to investigate the incident and to "report back" to Syria.

The minister said the fact that the raid took place during daylight was proof that it was a "determined" attack.

London - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem was holding talks with is British counterpart David Miliband in London Monday, but a planned joint news conference was called off following reports of a US raid into Syrian territory, the Foreign Office said.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the press conference had been abandoned because both sides had been concerned that it would be dominated by questions about the US raid.

Commentators said it would clearly have been awkward for Miliband, as the representative of the US' principal ally in Iraq, to have appeared alongside al-Muallem at a time when Syria was condemning what it described as an act of "serious aggression" by the US.

Rome  - Syrian foreign minister Wallid Moallem on Thursday indicated Syria would not follow its Russian ally's decision to recognize South Ossetia's independence.

"We have not recognized Kosovo," Mo'allem said in Rome, replying to a question on whether Damascus would, given its close ties to Moscow, also recognize the breakaway Georgian region's independence.

Beirut - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, arriving in Beirut on Monday, extended an official invitation to Lebanese President Michel Suleiman to visit Damascus in an effort to improve relations between the two countries.

"The Lebanese and Syrian governments will have to exchange visits to work for the interest of their people," Suleiman said.

"President Suleiman will visit Syria as soon as possible and contacts between the two sides will help set a date for the visit," Moallem said after meeting Suleiman.