Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah - 28 Mar 2007

The king made his remarks, rare criticism from a key U.S. ally in the region, Wednesday, at the annual Arab League summit in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

In violence Wednesday, an Iraqi army officer says 70 people were killed by gunmen in a Sunni district of the northern town of Tal Afar -- in apparent revenge for deadly bombings in a Shi'ite area.

The officer, General Khourshid al-Douski, says 30 people were wounded in the attack and another 40 are missing.

Sean McCormack - U.S. State Dept.

The Bush administration Thursday expressed surprise, and said it was 'seeking clarification', over remarks by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah at the Arab League summit that the United States role in Iraq was an "illegal foreign occupation."

Meanwhile, the U.S. officials are welcoming the Arab League's relaunch of its 2002 peace initiative for Israel. Here is VOA's David Gollust's report from the U.S. State Department - 

But they say they will contact the Saudi government over the comments, and are defending the legality of U.S. involvement in Iraq.

In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee appearance, Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, said the United States was "a little surprised" to see the remarks, and will ask for clarification.