Sources: President Assad "personally" supervised operation against "terrorist" group in Damascus

Al Bawaba ^ | April 28, 2004

[Shermy]

Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad "personally" supervised Tuesday night’s operation in al Mazza neighborhood of Damascus where a "terrorist" group attacked foreign targets, Syrian sources told Al Bawaba.

Al Mazza is a neighborhood in Damascus known to be the residence to many foreign diplomats and embassies in addition to high ranking Syrian officials.

Al Bawaba sources have revealed that president Assad drove in his car from his residence in the Rawda neighborhood to the scene at al Mazza to head the police force that were confronting the "terrorists."

Late on Tuesday, a "terrorist" group used two cars to fire RPG rounds at the ex-UN building’s ground floors which caused a fire in it. Security forces nearby the building fired back at the attackers, who then responded with their machine guns.

Two "terrorists" were killed on the spot while a third was killed in hospital while being hospitalized. According to the Syrian police, a fourth terrorist was severely injured.

"The Syrian Arab Republic which has confronted all forms of terrorism for more than 25 years, and condemns the terrorist incident which targeted the stability and security of the citizen and homeland," a Syrian official was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Syrian sources added that authorities found a "terrorist" hideout in Khan al-Sheikh, 25 kilometers south to Damascus where the group was hiding its weapons.

Meanwhile, analysts were disregarding the possibility that Al Qaeda may have been responsible for the attack. Nabil Milhem, a prominent Syrian journalist, told Al Bawaba that he discounts any claims linking Osama Bin Laden's network to Tuesday attack.

"I don’t think Al Qaeda is behind this attack as their previous attacks were organized and better planned…like the Riyadh and Casablanca attacks as well as many others around the world," Milhem explained.

According to Mohammed Jarad, editor-in-chief of the Syrian state-owned daily Tishreen, investigations are now underway to determine who was behind the attack.

"It is still too early to say anything. Terrorism has now become a global problem and not just a Syrian one,” conveyed Jarad. (Albawaba.com)

[Shermy]

Hmm.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

That's one way to spin a story...

[Shermy]

Maybe he was there in the first place...

[johnfrink]

For some reason I'm reminded of the Simpson's episode where Chief Wiggum just happens to be "raiding" the town brothel right when Sideshow Bob floats by on a boat.

[dfwgator]

Syria is Disneyland for terrorists. Don't fall for it, Assad is a huge supporter, but he is more tactful than most. This guy is dangerous.

[oolatec]

Syria actually staged this to make them look like victims too.

[Shermy]

Don't fall for it

Well, I think it highly unlikely that he came there when the battle raged.

But I'm intrigued by the possibility that this disinfo was released to cover the fact he was already there - or going by there. Assassination attempt discovered en route? Or was he "there" already? JohnFrink's suggestion that an "abandoned" UN facility was actually a whorehouse makes perfect sense to me... :)

Or it's something else completely different.

[dfwgator]

Methinks Syria knows we've got the goods on them hiding the Iraqi WMDs.

[kittymyrib]

I smell a rat...this is to get us off Syria's back after it has become obvious from the Jordanian poison-gas plot that they became the hiding place for Saddam's WMDs while the UN and the Democrats delayed the war. Never trust the Syrians.

[dfwgator]

The tinfoiler in me thinks the real reason we are in Iraq is to ultimately get to Syria.

[Shermy]

this article suggests a set-up:

Syria- NRO

[princess leah]

Why doesn't one of our planes go AWOL and drop a moab over Syria and say it was "confused on its coordinates"! Fire now, explain later!

[vpintheak]

What's up with the "italics" used for the "terrorists?"

[Shermy]

I think Al Bawaba has doubts about the official story like many freepers do.

[catpuppy]

Somebody's running scared. His initial are BAA. Coincidence or something more sinister?

[Shermy]

Don't know. Worth watching though.

[tet68]

Late on Tuesday, a "terrorist" group used two cars to fire RPG rounds at the ex-UN building’s ground floors which caused a fire in it. Security forces nearby the building fired back at the attackers, who then responded with their machine guns.

EX-UN building, that sure sounds good, too bad this wasn't in New York.

[stumpy]

I think in 1939 the Nazis used a ploy at a radio station before they launched their invasion of Poland. Could young mr. assad have read some history????