Damascus goes on security alert after four killed in bombing, shootout

[seemslikeadream]

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 28 April 2004 1820 hrs


DAMASCUS : The Syrian capital went on high security alert after a series of explosions and a shootout in the diplomatic quarter where two "terrorists", a policeman and a woman passer-by were killed.

The state news agency SANA said authorities later uncovered a cache of arms and explosives that belonged to the unknown group which carried out the attacks late Tuesday.



The cache was found in Khan al-Shih, a village 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of Damascus, it said Wednesday.

The US State Department said it was keeping the American embassy closed on Wednesday as a precaution and advised non-essential personnel to remain at home after the violence.

Syrian police, meanwhile, blocked off access routes to the embassy.

more
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/82259/1/.html

[seemslikeadream]

1. Syrians find arms cache of blast group: officials

Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 28 April 2004 1653 hrs



Syrians find arms cache of blast group: officials



DAMASCUS : The authorities in Syria have found a cache of arms and explosives that belonged to a group which carried out bomb attacks in the capital Damascus, the official SANA news agency said.

"The authorites found the cache in the village of Khan Al-Shih, 25 kilometres south of Damascus, where the terrorist troup hid its weapons," the agency said.



Two of four assailants as well as a policeman and a woman passerby were killed in a shootout following the attack, the Syrian interior ministry said.

"A group of four persons placed a device under a parked car early on Tuesday evening. The device exploded sparking damage to an uninhabited building in Mazzeh" in western Damascus, an interior ministry official said, quoted by the Sana news agency.

"A clash ensued between the security forces and the terrorist group, which fled aboard a second car throwing grenades at the security forces," he said.

more
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/82236/1/.html

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. This doesn't smell right.

Why would a terrorist group set off a bomb outside and empty building?
Answer: To send a message and create fear.
Sounds like special ops to me. They have a cache of weapons and explosives, and sophisticated enough to have hand grenades and use them to escape.
Why risk an operation over an empty building except to limit casualties?
This is not how terrorist operate.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...............

[seemslikeadream]

4. It's discussed there too

But since the link doesn't work it might get locked.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x514900

[seemslikeadream]

2. Syrian security forces battle 'terrorist' group near ambassadors' homes

Al-Jazeera said car bombs were used in the attack and that heavy exchanges of gunfire were continuing late into the night.

Al-Arabiya quoted a witness as saying over 15 explosions were heard.

Syria has been on the US State Department's list of terror-sponsoring nations for its support of anti-Israeli groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. But it says the anti-Israeli groups are not terrorist and that it has an interest in fighting Islamic extremist groups like al-Qaeda.

Syria is under intense pressure, particularly from the US, to crack down on militants in the country who are anti-Israeli or purportedly entering neighbouring Iraq to fight US soldiers.

Neighbouring Jordan said several suspected terrorists entered the country from Syria last month in a foiled plot to attack targets including the US embassy, the prime minister's office and the secret service agency.

Syria denied this, saying it is trying to stop militants crossing from its territory into Iraq.

more
http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=272&fArticleId=417679

Syria's Assad Sees 'Legitimate Resistance' in Iraq

"Certainly, what has happened on the popular level gives legitimacy to the resistance and shows that the major part of what is happening is resistance," Assad said in comments aired on Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera.

"You are talking now about resistance which is against the occupation forces," Assad said. Asked if the resistance was legitimate, he said: "Well, of course, it's understood that way."

The United States has accused Syria of sheltering "terrorists" and not doing enough to stop foreign fighters infiltrating from its territory into neighboring Iraq.

Syria says it has done its utmost to control the border and has helped the United States in its "war against terror."

Parts of the interview were shown by the Qatar-based channel which Washington has accused of inflaming an anti-U.S. revolt.

Al Jazeera said the interview took place before rare violence hit the Syrian capital Damascus Tuesday when an armed group set off a bomb in the tightly controlled diplomatic quarter and four people died in ensuing gunbattles.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4969790

Possible culprits

The BBC's Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says there are three possible culprits for Tuesday night's attack.

They might have been members of a resurgent Muslim Brotherhood, the pan-Arab outfit that spearheaded the Islamist revolt two decades ago.

They might be part of Syria's Kurdish minority, which was involved in street clashes in March.

Or finally, they could be agents of al-Qaeda - though this seems doubtful given the Syrian government's apparent disdain for US policies in the region.

Syria alert after mystery attack

[Just Me]

7. Hmmmm, they can't figure who did it, huh.

Very curious, indeed.

I definitely have my suspects lined up.

[seemslikeadream]

9. Me too

:hi:

[Earth_First]

5. I smell CIA...

lack of details, meathod of tactics...

[Just Me]

10. I smell evil-PNAC-doers,..

:bounce:

[seemslikeadream]

11. from the disappeared story

It is widely known coalition special forces based out of Iraq are in operation inside the Syrian

[Just Me]

17. Yeah, I saw that.

So many games,...so many players. And to think,...we only see the tip of all that!!!

[seemslikeadream]

6. Syria raids 'terror hideout' in Damascus

28/04/2004 - 1:12:44 PM

Syrian security forces raided a ”terrorist hideout” near a Palestinian refugee camp and recovered weapons belonging to men who attacked the Damascus diplomatic quarter of with a bomb and gunfire last night, officials said.

The arms, found in the nearby town of Khan al-Sheih, included rocket propelled grenades, guns and ammunition.

Khan al-Sheih is around 18 miles from the scene of the explosion and ensuing gun battle and has a Palestinian refugee camp nearby.

Residents of the Mazza district of the Syrian capital swept up bullet-shattered glass today and contemplated the horror of being caught in the crossfire.

The target of last night’s attack appeared to be a former United Nations office whose façade was blackened and scarred, but witnesses said the gunmen appeared to have fired at random.

An Interior Ministry official said four gunmen detonated a bomb placed under a car before firing bullets and grenades at Syrian security forces.

more
http://breaking.examiner.ie/2004/04/28/story144925.html


Syrian Security Units Clash with "Foreign Special Forces"


ttp://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?serv...

This is the story that disappeared

Syrian Security Units Clash with "Foreign Special Forces"
- 27/04/2004 21:00:00 GMT

A undercover special forces operation being run by "foreign governments" became embroiled in a bloody battle in Damascus, Syria early this evening sources close to the Syrian Foreign Ministry told Aljazeera.com.

Explosions and gunfire were heard in the diplomatic neighborhood as Syrian police and army units fought the "Foreign Special Forces" during which a number of cars were destroyed.

It is widely known coalition special forces based out of Iraq are in operation inside the Syrian side of the Iraqi border to stem the flow of foreign fighters. This incident is the first which has targeted the capital Damascus.
...more

http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?serv...

[Forkboy]

8. Now who would want to stir up trouble in Syria?

[seemslikeadream]

12. Syria Seeking Political Mileage From Terror Attack, Analyst Says

A Syrian analyst -- Dr. Fawzi al-Shueibi, head of the Institute for Strategic Studies in Damascus who is close to Assad -- said Damascus believes religious extremists linked to al Qaeda carried out the attack.

In an interview with the Qatari-based al Jazeera television network, al-Shueibi said he did not believe the attack was the work of Syrian or Kurdish groups.

But Israeli expert Dr. Yossi Olmert disagreed.

It is not clear who carried out the terrorist attack but it did not appear to be the work of al Qaeda, Olmert said in a telephone interview. The type of attack is not similar to those carried out by the group, he said.

Linking the attack to the international war against terrorism "gives a political advantage" to Syria, Olmert said, by showing that Syria, too, is being attacked. But, Olmert said he doubted that Damascus would be successful in establishing that connection.

According to Olmert, it is much more likely that the attack was carried out by an internal faction such as the Kurdish group. There have been a number of Kurdish arrests since clashes broke out in northern Syria last month between security forces and Arab tribesmen. Kurdish leaders have charged there is growing discrimination against them.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=%5CForeignBureaus%5Carchive%5C200404%5CFOR20040428f.html\

According to Israeli expert Dr. Yossi Olmert, it is much more likely that the attack was carried out by an internal faction such as the Kurdish group

[Just Me]

13. Good grief!!!

Will they actually be able to ascertain WHO was responsible?

I am wondering when some brand spanking new group of "terrorists" are gonna make that call claiming responsibility.

I am imagining all the freaky games that the good ole' boys are playing with the world.

[seemslikeadream]

14. Review of the Arab press

UPI - Wednesday, April 28, 2004



Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 11:27:11 AM EST

AMMAN, Jordan, April 28 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for April 28

Arab newspapers Wednesday highlighted the explosions and armed clashes in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday night. The clashes, the first of their kind in many years, broke out in the diplomatic suburb of Mazza between security forces and a group of suspected terrorists. Kuwait's al-Rai al-Aam daily reported that at least 20 people were killed in the clashes, but the government said four were killed. The pro-government paper quoted eyewitnesses as saying the residence of Jordan's ambassador to Syria was targeted by the armed group, which launched its attacks near a U.N. building next to the Canadian and Iranian embassies. The daily said the security guards of the diplomatic buildings returned fire at the assailants and an exchange of fire lasted for 80 minutes until some of the gunmen fled behind the U.N. building that was in flames. The eyewitnesses said that 15-minutes of fighting resumed an hour later before the clashes ended completely. It added that after the clashes, around 200 people gathered at the site in Mazza to condemn the incident.




more
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=Cqi8SqeidyxjHyI1WCMvZCW

[Just Me]

16. So, these type of attacks hadn't happened until AFTER the war

in Iraq.

Boy O' those Busholinis sure have growing increasing terrorism down to a fine art, eh?

[seemslikeadream]

15. Damascus Gunbattle Kills Four After Bombing In Diplomatic Quarter

Wednesday, April 28th, 2004

At least four people were killed yesterday in an unprecedented clash between Syrian police and a team of bombers in the Syrian capital of Damascus. We speak with British journalist and Syria expert Patrick Seale who says, "It is not clear whether this was a failed attempt at something bigger, or in fact it was something bigger, which has since been covered up."

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/04/28/1450208