Posted on 12/13/2004 10:56:34 AM PST by IAF ThunderPilot
Syria on Monday accused Israel of being behind a car bomb that targeted a Palestinian member of Hamas in the Mazzah neighborhood of the Syrian capital.
A passer-by was wounded in the explosion, but the Hamas member and his wife, who left the car minutes before the blast, were unhurt.
Speaking to Syrian state-run television, Interior Minister Ghazi Kenaan said a bomb placed under the seat of the vehicle exploded minutes after the Palestinian man and his wife stepped out for a dentist's appointment.
An Interior Ministry official said that the explosion was aimed at Palestinians living in Syria.
"The vehicle is owned by a Palestinian. This points to a subversive action against Palestinian brothers in Syria," the unnamed official told the state-run news agency SANA.
"This is the second incident in which an explosion targets a Hamas member," a Palestinian source said. He said the bomb, placed under the driver's seat, blew up shortly after the unnamed Hamas member and his daughter had parked the car and left it.
One passerby was slightly injured and treated in hospital. The blast occurred near a hospital and a petrol station, which was not damaged.
The silver sports utility vehicle was quickly removed by Syrian security and rescue teams who were collecting shrapnel scattered on the street in the Mazzah area, they said.
Residents said the car had Syrian licence plates.
"The explosion was so strong that the door blew open in my house and windows were shattered in the whole building," resident Issam Abdul Wahid told Reuters.
"There was nobody in the car. I was extinguishing it and there was nobody in it," he added.
Three months ago, senior Hamas official Iz a-Din al Sheikh Khalil was killed when a bomb exploded in his car in the Syrian capital.
There was no official confirmation of Israeli involvement in the assassination of Khalil, but unnamed Israeli security sources at the time said that the operation was carried out by Israel.
"Some people lead dangerous lives," an Israeli official said in response to Khalil's killing.
At this point in time I'm not going to pore through many tomes. The Damascus road Saul(Paul) of Tarsus was on was old and well known almost 2000 years ago. Obviously, it was named after an existent city called Damascus.
According to Josephus, Damascus was founed by Uz, the grandon of Shem, son of Noah. The Kingdom of Aram, 9 centuries BC, had Damascus as its capitol. Try www.ancientroute.com/cities/Damascus.htm. Also, see the article on damascus at www.sciencemag.com
Thanks for the links .. I will enjoy reading about Damascus.
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