BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- Iraq will share with Syria the results of an investigation it has opened into a deadly U.S. raid this week into Syrian territory, the Iraqi government has said.
"The Syrian side will be provided with all details and information when investigation is concluded," the government's National Media Center said in a statement.
Syria says eight civilians were killed in the October 26 attack, which occurred in an area close to Syria's border with Iraq and which Damascus has angrily condemned as "terrorist aggression" by the United States.
Washington has yet to officially confirm the raid, but officials have said on condition of anonymity that the operation is believed to have killed a major Al-Qaeda militant responsible for smuggling foreign fighters into Iraq.
Syria denies this.
The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, after initially saying the raid targeted an area used by militants to launch attacks into Iraq, on October 28 denounced the raid and said Iraq must not be used to stage attacks on other states.
The careful stance reflects the U.S.-backed government's delicate position, caught between Washington and Damascus, which has been a longtime target of U.S. ire.
Baghdad has been hoping for rapprochement with Syria and other Arab neighbors, despite complaints since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 that Syria has failed to staunch the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq.
"This incident underscores the urgent need for security cooperation and coordination between two brother nations, in order to avoid such acts in future," the statement, quoting a Foreign Ministry source, said.
"Iraq hopes this unfortunate act will not disturb brotherly relations between the two countries," it added.
In an apparent response to the raid, Syria shut down an American school and cultural center in Damascus. It also called on the United Nations Security Council to take action to ensure such cross-border attacks do not occur again.