DAMASCUS, Syria — Hundreds of Syrian riot police ringed the closed U.S. Embassy here today as tens of thousands of people gathered about a mile away for a government-orchestrated protest to denounce a deadly U.S. raid near the Iraqi border.

The troops, wearing helmets and armed with batons and shields, took up positions around the embassy and the adjacent U.S. residence building. The embassy was closed because of security concerns related to the protest, and the American school in Damascus was also shut for the day.

Today's protest came as Syria demanded a formal apology from the U.S. for Sunday's attack in the eastern border community of Abu Kamal that Damascus says killed eight civilians. It threatened to cut off cooperation on Iraqi border security if there are more American raids on Syria territory.

There has been no formal acknowledgment of the raid from Washington. But U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said the target of the raid was Badran Turki al-Mazidih, a top al-Qaida in Iraq figure who operated a network of smuggling fighters into the war-torn country. The Iraqi national also goes by the name Abu Ghadiyah.

Syria insists the dead were civilians and has challenged Americans to provide evidence to the contrary.

GAUHATI, India — A series of coordinated blasts tore through India's volatile northeast today, killing at least 56 people, wounding more than 300 and setting police on a frantic search for any unexploded bombs, officials said.One bomb exploded near the office of the Assam state's top government official in the largest blast, leaving bodies and mangled cars and motorcycles strewn across the road.It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blasts that went off within minutes of each other, but the region is torn by dozens of militant separatist groups that have long fought the government and one another.

BAGHDAD — A car bomb exploded today near a market in north Baghdad, killing one person and wounding five, police said.U.S. and Iraqi troops sealed off the area near the Tobchi market shortly after the blast, which occurred about 11 a.m.The explosion took place about a half-hour after a roadside bomb went off near a police patrol at an intersection in the Fudhailiya area in eastern Baghdad, wounding six people, including three policemen, officials said.