The Syrian government has ordered that an American school and a US cultural center in Damascus be closed in response to a deadly raid by US helicopters near the Syrian border with Iraq. The official SANA news agency said the decision came at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday chaired by Prime Minister Naji Otari. The report added that the Syrian education minister was given instructed to implement the decision. Syria claims US troops in four helicopters attacked a building near the border with Iraq and killed eight people on Sunday. US officials said the raid killed a top operative of al-Qaida in Iraq who intelligence suggested was about to conduct an attack in Iraq.