Suicide Bomber Kills Senior Defence Officials in Syria

Assef Shawkat and General Daoud Rajha

Today the Syrian Defence Minister, General Daoud Rajha, 65, and his deputy Assef Shawkat, the brother in law of President Bashar al-Assad were killed after a suicide bomber struck the National Security building in Damascus.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim al-Shaar and the head of the national security Hisham Bekhtyar also resulted seriously injured due to the explosion. Recently Liwa al-Islam, member of an Islamist rebel group known as “The Brigade of Islam” claimed that they were the responsible for the attack, and that it was not a suicide attack, the bomb was planted. Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army also claimed responsibility for the attack.

Five more explosions were heard this Wednesday near the northwestern Damascus district of Muhajireen, this is near the Fourth Armoured Division that is led by al-Assad’s brother Maher.

Now Fahad Jassim al Feraj was named the new Defence Minister. This latest events further increase the violence of the Syria civil war. (AV)