Syria asks Arab League to meet over aid flotilla

Syria asked on Monday for an emergency Arab League meeting to discuss what it described as Israeli aggression on Gaza-bound international aid ships.                                           

"Syria's representative to the Arab league has submitted a formal memo to the League requesting it to convene," the official news agency said.                                           

At least 10 people were killed on board the aid ships on Monday when Israeli commandos intercepted the vessels, which included ships flying Turkish flags.                                           

Syria hosts members of Hamas, the Islamist group that has ruled the Gaza strip since it won a brief civil war in the territory against supporters of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in 2007.                                           

The Arab League, which is based in Cairo, has endorsed indirect peace talks between Abbas's Palestinian Authority and Israel that started last month. Syria opposed the talks but said it did not take action to block "Arab consensus".