BEIRUT — In a double sign Saturday that Syrian security forces could be losing their grip on Damascus, gunmen kidnapped 48 Iranian pilgrims from a bus in the capital and an opposition group reported renewed fighting in the city, including fierce clashes near the presidential palace.
Heavy fighting also continued to rock the northern city of Aleppo, the Local Coordination Committees network said.
Graphic
A look at the Syrian uprising one year later. Thousands of Syrians have died and President Bashar al-Assad remains in power, despite numerous calls by the international community for him to step down.
More World News
Juan Forero
Dozens of women are assaulted each year by perpetrators looking for a quick way to destroy a life.
William Booth
There really are just two kinds of tacos, good and bad, according to two books that trace the evolution of the classic Mexican food.
Saudi Arabia’s and Qatar’s decision to send female athletes to London makes the 2012 Games the first where every country has a woman on its team.
The Iranian tour group was on its way to the shrine of Sayida Zainab, a popular destination for Shiite Muslim visitors, shortly before noon when its bus was attacked, according to an Iranian Embassy official in Damascus quoted by Fars News, a semi-official Iranian news agency.
A photo of the bus published by Fars News showed a cracked windshield with at least one bullet hole, suggesting that the gunmen had fired on the vehicle to force the driver to stop.
The embassy official noted that the Iranian government has halted official tours to Syria, presumably because of the widespread fighting, and that the pilgrims kidnapped on Saturday had arranged a private tour.
An embassy official quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said that the pilgrims had been located and that the embassy was following up with Syrian officials to secure their release.
This was not the first time that Iranians have been kidnapped in Syria. Since the country’s uprising started in March 2011, 32 Iranians, including seven engineers, 22 pilgrims and three truck drivers, have been kidnapped there, according to IRNA. Five of them — two engineers and three drivers — are still being held by armed groups, while 27 others have been released.
None of the armed opposition groups in Syria had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping by Saturday evening, but a Syrian government official quoted by Fars News blamed “terrorists linked to the Free Syrian Army.” Col. Malik Kurdi, the deputy commander of the Free Syrian Army, said when reached by phone that he had no information about the identity of the perpetrators.
The kidnapping could represent an attempt by opposition groups to pressure Iran’s government, which is the strongest regional ally of President Bashar al-Assad, to either withdraw its support for or denounce Assad’s government, according to analysts.
A Syrian opposition group that kidnapped 11 Lebanese pilgrims in late May demanded that Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, who is also one of Assad’s strongest supporters, apologize for comments in support of the Syrian leader as a precondition for releasing their captives.
Meanwhile, a relatively unknown Islamist opposition group called the Nusra Front claimed in a statement posted online Friday that it had kidnapped Mohammed al-Saeed, a Syrian TV presenter, on July 19 and subsequently killed him, according to the SITE Intelligence group. “Perhaps this operation and others will serve as an example to all who support this tyrannical regime, so that they may repent to Allah,” the statement said, according to the SITE translation.
The group also claimed it had raided a police station in the Jdeidat Artouz suburb of Damascus and posted pictures of assault rifles, pistols and ammunition that had been taken from the station.
The Syrian army hammered the Tadamon neighborhood in Damascus with artillery, mortar fire and helicopter rockets as intense clashes broke out between rebels and soldiers in Muhajereen, near the presidential palace, on Saturday evening, according to the Local Coordination Committees. The eastern city of Deir al-Zour was also heavily shelled, the group said.
The army also battered the neighborhoods of Salahuddin and Hanano in Aleppo with artillery fire Saturday as jets attacked the village of Marasta outside the city, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group. Clashes erupted between rebel fighters and government troops around the ancient citadel in the center of Aleppo, the Observatory said.
At least 112 people were killed in attacks across the country, according to the Local Coordination Committees, including 20 people in Deir al-Zour, 35 in Damascus and its suburbs and 18 in Aleppo.
The escalation in fighting comes as the beleaguered Syrian government shows signs that international sanctions may be starting to hit hard. On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said that the government has requested a loan from Russia.
Suzan Haidamous contributed to this report.
Heavy fighting also continued to rock the northern city of Aleppo, the Local Coordination Committees network said.
Graphic
A look at the Syrian uprising one year later. Thousands of Syrians have died and President Bashar al-Assad remains in power, despite numerous calls by the international community for him to step down.
More World News
Juan Forero Dozens of women are assaulted each year by perpetrators looking for a quick way to destroy a life.
William Booth There really are just two kinds of tacos, good and bad, according to two books that trace the evolution of the classic Mexican food.
Saudi Arabia’s and Qatar’s decision to send female athletes to London makes the 2012 Games the first where every country has a woman on its team.The Iranian tour group was on its way to the shrine of Sayida Zainab, a popular destination for Shiite Muslim visitors, shortly before noon when its bus was attacked, according to an Iranian Embassy official in Damascus quoted by Fars News, a semi-official Iranian news agency.
A photo of the bus published by Fars News showed a cracked windshield with at least one bullet hole, suggesting that the gunmen had fired on the vehicle to force the driver to stop.
The embassy official noted that the Iranian government has halted official tours to Syria, presumably because of the widespread fighting, and that the pilgrims kidnapped on Saturday had arranged a private tour.
An embassy official quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said that the pilgrims had been located and that the embassy was following up with Syrian officials to secure their release.
This was not the first time that Iranians have been kidnapped in Syria. Since the country’s uprising started in March 2011, 32 Iranians, including seven engineers, 22 pilgrims and three truck drivers, have been kidnapped there, according to IRNA. Five of them — two engineers and three drivers — are still being held by armed groups, while 27 others have been released.
None of the armed opposition groups in Syria had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping by Saturday evening, but a Syrian government official quoted by Fars News blamed “terrorists linked to the Free Syrian Army.” Col. Malik Kurdi, the deputy commander of the Free Syrian Army, said when reached by phone that he had no information about the identity of the perpetrators.
The kidnapping could represent an attempt by opposition groups to pressure Iran’s government, which is the strongest regional ally of President Bashar al-Assad, to either withdraw its support for or denounce Assad’s government, according to analysts.
A Syrian opposition group that kidnapped 11 Lebanese pilgrims in late May demanded that Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, who is also one of Assad’s strongest supporters, apologize for comments in support of the Syrian leader as a precondition for releasing their captives.
Meanwhile, a relatively unknown Islamist opposition group called the Nusra Front claimed in a statement posted online Friday that it had kidnapped Mohammed al-Saeed, a Syrian TV presenter, on July 19 and subsequently killed him, according to the SITE Intelligence group. “Perhaps this operation and others will serve as an example to all who support this tyrannical regime, so that they may repent to Allah,” the statement said, according to the SITE translation.
The group also claimed it had raided a police station in the Jdeidat Artouz suburb of Damascus and posted pictures of assault rifles, pistols and ammunition that had been taken from the station.
The Syrian army hammered the Tadamon neighborhood in Damascus with artillery, mortar fire and helicopter rockets as intense clashes broke out between rebels and soldiers in Muhajereen, near the presidential palace, on Saturday evening, according to the Local Coordination Committees. The eastern city of Deir al-Zour was also heavily shelled, the group said.
The army also battered the neighborhoods of Salahuddin and Hanano in Aleppo with artillery fire Saturday as jets attacked the village of Marasta outside the city, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group. Clashes erupted between rebel fighters and government troops around the ancient citadel in the center of Aleppo, the Observatory said.
At least 112 people were killed in attacks across the country, according to the Local Coordination Committees, including 20 people in Deir al-Zour, 35 in Damascus and its suburbs and 18 in Aleppo.
The escalation in fighting comes as the beleaguered Syrian government shows signs that international sanctions may be starting to hit hard. On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil said that the government has requested a loan from Russia.
Suzan Haidamous contributed to this report.