(L-R) Kharrazi and Gul insisted on alluding to "terror groups" operating from Iraq

DAMASCUS, November 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraq's neighbors wrapped up talks Sunday, November 2, by condemning "terrorist bombings" in the U.S.-occupied Arab country and urging a greater U.N. role.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey called for an accelerated transfer of power to Iraqis, saying security in the war-battered country was the responsibility of the occupation forces.

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Agence France-Presse (AFP), they urged the U.N. to "enhance" its "vital role in Iraq" in supervising the drafting of a constitution, organizing elections and fixing a timetable to end the foreign occupation.

The top diplomats also condemned "terrorist bombings" targeting civilians, diplomats and employees of humanitarian organizations in Iraq.

Promising to back the interim administration until the election of a representative government, they rejected frequent warnings from Washington calling on Syria and Iran not to interfere in the affairs of its oil-rich neighbor.

Washington has blamed mounting attacks on its forces in Iraq on an influx of foreign fighters infiltrating Iraq, particularly from Iran and Syria, a charged repudiated by both neighbors.

At least 15 American soldiers were killed and 21 others wounded Sunday when Iraqi fighters shot down a U.S. helicopter gunship near Fallujah.

Terror Concern

Maher lashed out at Zebari for spurning the invitation on television not through official channels

At the insistence of Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi and Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, the statement expressed "concern" about terror groups operating out of Iraq, in reference to the Iranian armed opposition group, the People's Mudjahedeen, and Kurdish rebels hostile to Ankara.

The talks began an hour late in order to give Iraqi interim foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari time to arrive in Damascus, Arab ministers told AFP.

The statement stressed the ministers had invited Zebari and that he did not reply.

"However, they expressed their hope that a representative of Iraq could attend in their forthcoming meetings," it added.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher earlier slammed the Iraqi snub as a wasted opportunity and criticized Zebari for spurning the invitation on television, not through official channels.

During a morning meeting, the top diplomats extended their "support" to Syria in the wake of "Israeli attacks on its territory," a reference to an Israeli air raid near Damascus on October 5, the first in some three decades.

"We agreed virtually on all the points of the statement," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told AFP.

While Syria and Iran vehemently opposed the U.S.-led war to topple Saddam Hussein, Saudi Arabia and Jordan trod a milder line, refusing to participate in the action.

The ministers did not discuss the so-called international stabilization force which Washington is trying to establish to take on some of the burden of the occupation.

Of the Damascus delegations, only Ankara pledged to send troops to participate in the force, a position vehemently opposed by the U.S.-installed Iraqi interim Governing Council.

The Damascus summit is the fourth such meeting between the seven nations, following earlier meetings in Istanbul in January, in Riyadh last April and in Tehran in May.

A fifth summit will take place in Kuwait at an unspecified date, sources told AFP.