Iraq alarmed at cross-border risk

Many Iraqis have died in attacks

Iraq has accused its neighbours of failing to stop foreign fighters entering the country.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the BBC that several countries had made promises of border co-operation but these had not materialised.

However, Mr Zebari said there was no evidence that any state had a deliberate policy to help such groups.

King Abdullah of Jordan said that the destabilisation of Iraq was a dangerous game for its neighbours to play.

He told the BBC that instability in Iraq could easily spill over into other countries.

"I do hope that all of us in the surrounding region will make sure that this does not happen, because no country in the Middle East... would be able to come out of this unscathed," he said on the Newshour programme.

There have to be some countries they have crossed to get to Iraq, they haven't come from heaven Hoshyar Zebari Iraqi foreign minister

Mr Zebari told the same programme earlier that foreign fighters were entering from Iran, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, every country with a border with Iraq.

"Many of them are coming from outside... to settle scores with the Americans, the crusaders, the infidels according to their twisted logic," he said.

'Iraqi job'

"There have to be some countries they have crossed to get to Iraq, they haven't come from heaven."

He said that while no government had been accused of helping the militants there may have been lower-level involvement from security agencies.

And he said that even countries like Kuwait which had expressed willingness to co-operate had nationals involved in terrorist networks.

The minister also emphasised the issue had to be solved by Iraq and its neighbours, without US involvement.

"We will try to take action at the appropriate time, this is an Iraqi job," he said.

Earlier, the London-based Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, quoting Mr Zebari, that intelligence on assistance to foreign insurgents from Iraq's neighbours would be published "within days".

The US has accused Syria of allowing militants to enter Iraq. In May, it imposed economic sanctions on Damascus.