Israel's UN ambassador used FOX news report to blame Syria for UN bombing

Israeli envoy links Syria to UN blast, stirs flap

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Israel's U.N. ambassador caused a flap at U.N. headquarters on Thursday, hinting that the truck used in the suicide bombing attack on U.N. headquarters in Baghdad may have come from Syria.

Syrian U.N. envoy Fayssal Mekdad promptly denied the charge as "a big lie" and Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman's own aides acknowledged the statement was based in part on an interview with a retired U.S. military analyst on Fox Television. snip

Asked if Syria was directly tied to Tuesday's attack, which killed at least 24 people and injured at least 100, Gillerman said there was insufficient evidence to suggest that.

"All I am saying is that intelligence reports and reports we've seen and heard also in the media indicate the truck that blew up the compound in Baghdad actually came from Damascus," he said.

Aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, later said Gillerman was not referring to Israeli intelligence reports but reports from other countries as well as media reports, including the Fox Television interview.

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