At U.N., Syria compares rebel violence to 9/11 attacks

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem addresses the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 30, 2013. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria's foreign minister on Monday compared what he described as an invasion of foreign terrorists across his country to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, remarks that Washington dismissed as offensive and disingenuous.

In a speech to the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem also said that "terrorists from more than 83 countries are engaged in the killing of our people and our army" under the appeal of global jihad.