Syrian prime minister survives Damascus bombing, six die

People stand near debris and a damaged vehicle after an explosion at al-Mezze neighbourhood in Damascus April 29, 2013, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS-SANA-HandoutPhoto Credit: Reuters/SANA/Handout

(Reuters) – Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki survived a bomb attack on his convoy in Damascus on Monday, state media and activists said, as rebels struck in the heart of President Bashar al-Assad’s capital.

Six people were killed in the blast, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, the latest in a series of rebel attacks on government targets including a December bombing which wounded Assad’s interior minister.

Halki wields little power but the attack highlighted the rebels’ growing ability to target symbols of Assad’s authority in a civil war which has cost more than 70,000 lives, according to the United Nations.

Assad picked Halki in August to replace Riyadh Hijab, who defected and escaped to neighboring Jordan just weeks after a Damascus bombing which killed four of the president’s top security advisers.

In comments released by the state news agency SANA but not shown on television, Halki was quoted as condemning the attack as a sign of “bankruptcy and failure of the terrorist groups”, a reference to the rebels battling to overthrow Assad.

The blast shook the Mezze district soon after 9 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) and sent thick black smoke into the sky. The Observatory said one man accompanying Halki was killed as well as five passers-by.

State television showed firemen hosing down the charred and mangled remains of a car. Close by was a large white bus, its windows blown out and its seats gutted by fire. Glass and debris were scattered across several lanes of a main road.

“The terrorist explosion in al-Mezze was an attempt to target the convoy of the prime minister. Doctor Wael al-Halki is well and not hurt at all,” state television said.

 

Reuters has the full article

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