Syrian diplomat says U.S. raid "outrageous crime": report

LONDON (Reuters) - An alleged U.S. attack on a Syrian village near the border with Iraq was an "outrageous crime," a Syrian diplomat told the BBC.

Syria says U.S. military helicopters attacked the Bou Kamal border area on Sunday, killing eight civilians. The United States, which accuses Syria of not doing enough to stop al Qaeda fighters and other insurgents crossing into Iraq, has neither confirmed nor denied the incident.

"This is an outrageous crime and an act of aggression, of course," Syria's press attache in London, Jihad Makdissi, told the BBC.

He said the U.S. strike hit "a building under construction, a civilian building."

"If they (the United States) have any proof of any insurgency, instead of applying the law of the jungle and penetrating, unprovoked, a sovereign country, they should come to the Syrians first and share this information," Maqdisi said.

"This administration ... have proved to be irrational and they have no respect for international law or human rights. We expect a clarification, and of course Syria reserves the right to respond accordingly in the proper way."

Syria's foreign ministry has summoned the U.S. charge d'affaires in Damascus to protest over the raid.

Syria also called on the Iraqi government to carry out an immediate inquiry into the attack and to ensure that Iraq was not used for "aggression against Syria," the state news agency SANA said.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)