Damascus - Syria and Lebanon agreed on Monday to form a committee to fight terrorism and control its borders, days after Syria blamed suspects linked to a Lebanese group with a bomb attack in Damascus.

The decision came during a visit of Lebanese Minister of Interior Zaid Baroud to Damascus, the first by an interior minister since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minster Rafik Hariri, which some groups in Lebanon blame on Syria.

The two neighbours also agreed to cooperate in fighting cross- border smuggling and other crimes, they said in a statement. Syria and Lebanon recently agreed to demark their borders and exchange diplomatic representation for the first time since gaining independence from France some 60 years ago.

Relations between Syria and Lebanon were further strained following Hariri's assassination, which some Lebanese blame on Syria.

Syrian television last week showed alleged members of the militant Lebanon-based, al-Qaeda-linked Fatah al-Islam group admitting to having been behind a bombing in Damascus that killed 17 in late September.

The broadcast sparked criticism from Lebanese officials, including Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, who heads Lebanon's parliamentary majority. (dpa)