Willingness of Iraqis, non-Iraqis to fight for Saddam surprising.(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Byline: Philip Dine

WASHINGTON _ U.S. officials, already surprised that Iraqis are willing to fight for Saddam Hussein, are now concerned that non-Iraqis are entering the fray _ which they fear could complicate both the war and the nation-building afterward.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has in recent days accused Iran of sending forces into Iraq, and Syria of supplying night-vision equipment to the Iraqi military. He has pointedly warned Iraq's neighbors to stay out of the war or face consequences.

Meanwhile, Iraq claims that 6,000 Arabs and Muslims around the Middle East have sought documents to enter Iraq, and radical Palestinian groups, long close to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, are pledging to send suicide bombers to target the U.S.-led coalition.

"There have been reports of Islamic extremists entering Iraq, some coming through Syria, some through Iran," a top intelligence official said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We're looking at hundreds so far. It's unclear what role they might play, though it is something we need to be mindful of."

Those concerns took on added currency Tuesday when the Iraqi information minister read a statement said to be from Saddam calling for a "jihad," or Islamic ...