BEIRUT — Two bombs exploded outside a key Syrian military headquarters in the heart of the Syrian capital Damascus on Wednesday, triggering widespread gunfire in which a reporter for an Iranian television channel was killed.
The early morning blasts outside the Syrian army’s General Staff Command reconfirmed that Syria’s rebels are capable of penetrating the upper echelons of the country’s military establishment. Videos posted on YouTube showed smoke billowing from the headquarters, located beside the city’s heavily guarded Umayyad Square where numerous sensitive government institutions are based.
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Residents said the blasts were followed by sustained gunfire lasting for at least two hours around the building and elsewhere across the city as wailing ambulances hurtled through the streets. Iran’s English-language Press TV later reported that correspondent Maya Nasser, a Syrian national, had been killed by a sniper’s bullet. The channel’s Damascus bureau chief, Hossein Mortaza, a Lebanese national who also ran the bureau of sister Arabic-language channel al-Alam, was injured, Press TV said on its Web site.
It was unclear whether the gunfire was caused by panicked security forces firing into the air or by clashes with rebels in the area. In a statement on its Facebook page, the Damascus Military Council of the rebel Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the blasts and said members of the security forces and shabiha militia subsequently opened fire randomly, first around the headquarters and later at checkpoints elsewhere.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shooting was apparently carried out by government forces “in order to open the roads for the ambulances and to prevent an approach to the area.”
However, al-Manar, a television channel run by the pro-Syrian Lebanese Hezbollah movement, quoted its correspondent in Damascus as saying that security forces fought gun battles with militants at the scene and killed several of them, suggesting that a more complex attack had taken place.
There were conflicting reports on the number of casualties from the blasts. The Damascus Military Council said “tens” of people were killed. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi told state television that there were no casualties and said reports that the defense minister and several military commanders had been injured were “groundless,” according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency.
But a statement by the military command that was read later on state-run television said “multiple” members of the security forces had been injured.
A woman who was traveling on a bus to work near the scene of the blasts described widespread panic in the streets as ambulances converged on the area, guards opened fire and commuters raced for cover in a nearby park.
“I was scared,” she said. “They were scared. Everyone was grabbing their phones and talking.”
The early morning blasts outside the Syrian army’s General Staff Command reconfirmed that Syria’s rebels are capable of penetrating the upper echelons of the country’s military establishment. Videos posted on YouTube showed smoke billowing from the headquarters, located beside the city’s heavily guarded Umayyad Square where numerous sensitive government institutions are based.
Graphic
Interactive: Recent events in Syria
More World News
Colum Lynch and Anne Gearan Speaking at the U.N., he proposes a political and military coalition to stop the violence.
Olga Khazan UK trade group says farmers hit hard by drought.
Millions of beer drinkers from around the world will come to the Bavarian capital over the next two weeks for the 179th Oktoberfest, which runs until Oct. 7.Residents said the blasts were followed by sustained gunfire lasting for at least two hours around the building and elsewhere across the city as wailing ambulances hurtled through the streets. Iran’s English-language Press TV later reported that correspondent Maya Nasser, a Syrian national, had been killed by a sniper’s bullet. The channel’s Damascus bureau chief, Hossein Mortaza, a Lebanese national who also ran the bureau of sister Arabic-language channel al-Alam, was injured, Press TV said on its Web site.
It was unclear whether the gunfire was caused by panicked security forces firing into the air or by clashes with rebels in the area. In a statement on its Facebook page, the Damascus Military Council of the rebel Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the blasts and said members of the security forces and shabiha militia subsequently opened fire randomly, first around the headquarters and later at checkpoints elsewhere.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the shooting was apparently carried out by government forces “in order to open the roads for the ambulances and to prevent an approach to the area.”
However, al-Manar, a television channel run by the pro-Syrian Lebanese Hezbollah movement, quoted its correspondent in Damascus as saying that security forces fought gun battles with militants at the scene and killed several of them, suggesting that a more complex attack had taken place.
There were conflicting reports on the number of casualties from the blasts. The Damascus Military Council said “tens” of people were killed. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi told state television that there were no casualties and said reports that the defense minister and several military commanders had been injured were “groundless,” according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency.
But a statement by the military command that was read later on state-run television said “multiple” members of the security forces had been injured.
A woman who was traveling on a bus to work near the scene of the blasts described widespread panic in the streets as ambulances converged on the area, guards opened fire and commuters raced for cover in a nearby park.
“I was scared,” she said. “They were scared. Everyone was grabbing their phones and talking.”