Syrian rebels struck at the heart of Damascus yesterday in an attempt to blow up the country’s Prime Minister, a close ally of President Assad.
Wael al-Halqi survived, but at least six people were killed, including a bodyguard, when the car bomb exploded beside his convoy in the previously highly secure neighbourhood of Mezzeh, western Damascus. Syrian state television showed footage of a column of thick smoke and a burnt-out car and a bus.
Mr Halqi was quoted by Sana, the state-run news agency, as saying that the attack was a sign of the “bankruptcy and failure of the terrorist groups”, a reference to the armed opposition.
The attack demonstrates how the Syrian opposition is now hitting close to the centre of power. Two weeks