Wednesday, July 18, 2012
BEIRUT: Syrian state television said Wednesday that a bombing in Damascus killed Defense Minister Daoud Rajha and his deputy, Asef Shawkat, who was the brother-in-law and close confidante of President Bashar al-Assad.
The deputy commander of the Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest and most dramatic sign of upheaval in more than 16 months of civil revolt.
“The Free Syrian Army carried out this attack in retaliation for the massacres committed by the regime and because of the international silence,” said the official, Col. Malik Kurdi. “We promised that we are going to hit the regime in its most sensitive axis. This was necessary for us.”
The explosion at the National Security building came during a meeting of cabinet ministers and top security officials and added to growing questions about the government’s ability to keep control of the capital, where fierce clashes between security forces and rebels have raged since Sunday.
Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar was seriously injured in the bombing but was in stable condition, Syrian news outlets reported. The death of Shawkat, who was married to Assad’s sister and for years was head of military intelligence, was considered an especially powerful blow to Assad’s tight inner circle.
“This cowardly act won’t affect us,” the defense ministry said in a statement that was read on state-controlled television. “If the people think they can force Syria in a certain direction by killing these people, they are delusional.”
On Tuesday, Syrian opposition groups said their fighters were converging on Damascus. Despite the overwhelming firepower of government troops, rebel forces appeared to hold their ground in several neighborhoods where the fighting was heaviest, according to members of the opposition.
The intense fighting in the capital marked the first time that many Damascus residents had seen overt signs of the bloody uprising against Assad that has left at least 14,000 Syrians dead.
