Syrian military planes crossed into Iraqi airspace on Thursday in order to carry out air strikes against the border town of Albu Kamal, which is held by rebel forces, Iraqi officials said.

"Syrian combat aircraft crossed into Iraqi airspace at about 8:00 am (0500 GMT) for about 15 minutes, and targeted Albu Kamal in Syrian territory," a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi border guards said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An official in the security command centre of Anbar, the western Iraqi province that borders Albu Kamal in Syria, confirmed the incident but declined to give details or to be identified by name.

The mayor of Qaim, the Iraqi town across the border from Albu Kamal, said that there had been attacks on Albu Kamal, but said the planes did not cross the border.

"There were ... aerial attacks on Albu Kamal," Farhan al-Obeidi said. "There weren't any Syrian aircraft crossing into Iraq -- everything that happened was in Syria."

Last month, Syrian rebels took control of Albu Kamal, one of three main border crossings along the 600-kilometre (375-mile) frontier between Iraq and Syria.

China to give $4.7m in aid for Syrian refugees: Xinhua
Beijing (AFP) Aug 23, 2012 - China will give 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) in humanitarian aid for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, the official Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

The aid will go to refugees in Jordan and Lebanon to "show Chinese people's friendly sentiments toward Syrian people", Xinhua reported, citing the foreign ministry.

More than 265,000 Syrians have fled their country's raging conflict since March last year and 1.2 million are internally displaced, the United Nations estimates.

China and Russia have locked horns repeatedly with their fellow UN Security Council members on how to handle the Syria conflict, now in its 17th month with little sign of easing.

The two have rejected efforts by their Western counterparts to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, and instead accused them of prolonging the conflict by backing the opposition forces.

China has urged the Syrian government and opposition to engage in dialogue and has repeatedly stressed its policy of non-interference in other countries' affairs.

About 17,000 Syrians have died since the conflict erupted, the UN estimates, including 37 in the capital of Damascus on Wednesday as regime forces battled rebel fighters.

China donated $2 million in aid to Syrians in March through the International Committee of the Red Cross, Xinhua said.