Syria Envoy Says British, French, Belgian Fighters Killed

Syria's U.N. envoy said Thursday that British, French and Belgian nationals were among foreign fighters killed in the country's mounting conflict and that there was al-Qaida involvement.

The ambassador, Bashar Jaafari, told the U.N. Security Council that 12 foreign fighters had been killed and 26 detained in recent clashes with Syrian forces.

"We have a list that contains 12 names of foreign terrorists killed in Syria, including one French citizen, one British citizen, one Belgian citizen," Jaafari told the 15-member council.

He said a list of the 26 foreigners detained had been sent to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and to the Security Council.

The 26 have "confessed they are terrorists and entered Syria to carry out terror operations," he added. Some were "associated" with al-Qaida.

The ambassador later told reporters that those detained were mainly Tunisians and Libyans but there was one Palestinian and one Jordanian.

All of the "confessions" have been shown on Syrian television, Jaafari said.

The ambassador said that recent bomb attacks in Syria "carried the stamp of al-Qaida methods."

Jaafari renewed condemnation of Gulf Arab states and Turkey who he accused of backing the foreign fighters and Syrian rebels.