By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

Iraq urged its neighbours on Wednesday to stem the inflow of fighters crossing their borders to join insurgents in Iraq or risk a spillover of militancy in the region.

"Terrorism is going to spread to your territories because you are not helping enough," head of Iraqi Military Intelligence Hussein Kamal told an international security meeting on Iraq in the Syrian capital.

"We want more help from our neighbours, especially Saudi Arabia and Syria, who have suffered from crimes linked to insecurity in Iraq," he said, in reference to Islamist militant attacks in the two neighbouring Arab states.

"The border agreements with our neighbours must be activated. Wanted people must be handed in," Kamal said.

One source familiar with the conference said the Iraqi delegation had brought evidence of alleged movement of weapons and insurgents across the border with Syria.

Syria is hosting the two-day meeting that opened on Wednesday at a government complex on the outskirts of Damascus. The United States, Britain, Iran and Jordan are taking part. Saudi Arabia, whose relations with Syria have been tense over a political crisis in Lebanon, has chosen to stay away.

The United States has accused Syria of not doing enough to stop a flow of fighters crossing into Iraq to fight alongside al Qeda and allowing Iraqi rebel networks to operate from Syria.

Saudis have also joined Arabs fighting in the ranks of al Qaeda in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Estimates on the numbers have varied from hundreds to thousand

Washington also accuses Iran, a close ally of Syria, of stoking violence in Iraq -- accusations dismissed by Tehran.

Syrian Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majeed told the conference that Syria had stepped up its efforts to secure the 360-km with Iraq.

"We have detained a large number of foreigners who have attempted to cross and handed them over to Iraq and other countries," Abdel Majeed said.

"But Syria cannot control the border from one side. There needs to be a truly regional effort to do this," he said.

The Syrian delegation included Mohammad Mansoura, head of the powerful Political Security intelligence branch. The United States is represented by diplomats from its Damascus and Baghdad embassies.

A 15-member Iranian delegation of intelligence officers and diplomats came from Tehran, which engaged this week in security talks with the United States in Baghdad.

Syria recently gave its explicit backing for the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad, but the United States still doubts that Damascus is willing to play a role in stopping the Iraq violence. Damascus denies helping insurgents and says stabilising Iraq is in its national interest.

But Syrian officials have made it clear that Syria will not go out of its way to help the United States in Iraq in the absence of a commitment by Washington to ease U.S. sanctions on Syria that were imposed in 2004.

(Reuters)