Tehran, July 19, IRNA – IRI First Vice President in a message to Syrian prime minister consoled martyrdom of a group of Syrian Arab Republic’s officials in a terrorist attack in Damascus Wednesday to Syrian government and nation.
According to IRNA, the Iranian top official Mohammad-Reza Rahimi has in his message to Prime Minister Dr. Riaz Hejab wrote, “To my great sorrow, I received the news on terrorist operation in Damascus which led to the martyrdom of officials and top members of the Syrian Arabic Republic.”
Rahimi added, “Beyond doubt, such moves would create no negative effect in the resolute will of the Syrian nation and government in their campaign against terrorism and the support of some regional and international players for the terrorists, too, that have aimed at the stability and security of the resistant Syrian nation, would lead nowhere.”
The message ends with further condemnation of the criminal move, expressing sympathy and further condolence with the great and prestigious Syrian government and nation, praying to Almighty Allah for the salvation of souls of the dear bygone martyrs.
An explosion inside the Syrian national security headquarters in Damascus targeted ministers from President Bashar al-Assad's regime who were meeting with defense officials on Wednesday, killing three of the most senior members of President Assad's inner circle, including his brother-in-law.
The Syrian Army said Defense Minister General Dawoud Rajha and his deputy, Asef Shawkat, were both killed in the explosion. Shawkat, Assad's brother-in-law, also held the title of deputy chief of staff.
According to state-run TV, former Defense Minister Hassan Turkmani, who headed Assad's 'crisis cell' that coordinated the regime's response to the 16-month uprising, was also killed in the blast.
Other ministers and military officials were seriously wounded in the explosion, according to state media.
Syrian State TV reported that Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar and National Security Department head Major General Hisham Ikhtiar sustained injuries but were in stable condition.
Fierce gun battles and other explosions were reported around the capital following the attack on the security headquarters, including at least four blasts reported near military installations in Damascus.
'The attack makes Syria, its armed forces, people and leadership, more determined to stand up to terror groups and amputate the arm of anybody who seeks undermine Syrian security,' the army said in a statement.
President Assad himself has still made no official comment, but the Syrian state TV reported that he named General Fahd Jassem al-Freij, the formerly the Army chief of staff, as the new defense minister .
Rebel commander Riad al-Asaad claimed responsibility for the attack, saying his forces had planted a bomb in the room and detonated it remotely. Those who carried out the attack were safe, he said, according the Associated Press.
Opposition leader Kamal al-Labwani told al-Arabiya, a pan-Arab satellite channel, that a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army planted a TNT and C-4-based device inside the building ahead of the meeting, and then detonated the bomb remotely before fleeing to safety. There were conflicting claims, however, from other opposition figures, some of them claiming a suicide belt had been used in the attack.
Reporting from the scene of the explosion, CBS News' George Baghdadi said the blast did not appear to be very large. There have been previous bomb attacks inside Syria targeting regime officials, but they have been much larger explosions and targeting much lower-ranking members of the government and security forces.
The national security headquarters is among the most tightly secured buildings in Damascus. If rebel forces did in fact remotely detonate a bomb, the individual who planted the device likely was an insider. Officials told Al Jazeera that the person who planted the device was one of the cabinet member's personal bodyguards.
Elsewhere around the world, diplomatic wrangling over how to handle the Syrian crisis continued. The United Nations Security Council delayed until Thursday morning a vote on a new resolution after a request Wednesday morning from international envoy Kofi Annan, who has tried in vain to broker a cease-fire between the rebels and government forces, CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk reports from the UN.
Russia, a longtime Syrian ally that has along with China twice vetoed previous UN action against the Assad regime, accused Western powers of fomenting conflict.
'Instead of calming the opposition down, some of our partners are inciting it to go on,' Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, according to RIA Novosti news agency Wednesday.
Courtesy: CNN for the background
