WASHINGTON - Washington is concerned about recently observed Syrian troop movements near the Lebanese border and warned Damascus against interfering in Lebanon, a State Department spokesman said Monday. "We're concerned about this type of activity along the border and that it not lead to any further interference on the part of Syria into Lebanon's internal affairs," spokesman Robert Wood told reporters. "The recent terrorist attacks that took place in Tripoli and Damascus should not serve as a pretext for, you know, further Syrian military engagement or ... should not be used to interfere in Lebanese internal affairs," he added.

On September 27, a car bomb exploded near a Shiite shrine in southern Damascus killing 17 people and wounding 14 others, in one of the deadliest attacks in a dozen years. All the victims were civilians.
The next day, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was quoted as telling state media that northern Lebanon had become "a base for extremists" and warned that such developments "posed a threat" to his country. The anti-Syrian parliament majority in Lebanon viewed Assad's words with apprehension, saying he appeared to be setting the stage for a return of Syrian forces into Lebanon.

There was also a car bombing last Monday in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli that killed four soldiers and three civilians, in the second bombing against the Lebanese army there in as many months. The Lebanese army said on September 22 that Syria has boosted troop numbers along the border but that Damascus stressed the move was linked to a crackdown against smugglers. "Nearly 10,000 Syrian special forces have been deployed in the Abbudiya region along the border between Lebanon and Syria," a Lebanese army spokesman told AFP. "We asked Damascus for clarification and we were told that the measures were strictly internal and on Syrian territory, and that they were in no way directed against Lebanon," he added.

Syria, a longtime powerbroker in its smaller neighbor, withdrew its troops under popular pressure from the Lebanese people in 2005 after maintaining a military presence for nearly 30 years.