BBC News Middle East
18 July 2012 Last updated at 11:16 GMT
Syria conflict: 'Suicide bomb' kills defence minister
Syrian Defence Minister Daoud Rajiha has been killed in a suspected suicide
bombing at the national security headquarters in the capital Damascus, Syrian
state TV says.
The deputy head of the armed forces, President Assad's brother-in-law Assef
Shawkat, is also reported to have died.
Other senior officials meeting inside at the time are said to be critically
hurt.
The attack comes amid claims of a major rebel offensive on the city.
Syrian officials have downplayed the attacks.
"The Minister of Defence was martyred by the terrorist bombing that targeted
the national security building," the TV report said.
Security sources say the suspected bomber worked as a bodyguard for members of
President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle.
Gen Rajiha has been defence minister for less than a year, serving previously
as chief of staff, and is on a US blacklist for his role in the suppression of
dissent.
He is believed to be an Orthodox Christian - a rarity in the Alawite-dominated
Syrian military and government.
Diplomatic efforts
The attack comes as UN chiefs have been trying to persuade China and Russia to
agree tougher measures on Syria, ahead of a Security Council vote on Wednesday
on imposing sanctions.
UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan held talks with Russian President Vladimir
Putin in Moscow, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met Chinese leader Hu
Jintao in Beijing.
The UN has until Friday to renew the mandate for observers in Syria, although a
vote is expected in New York on Wednesday afternoon.
Western nations want a new resolution threatening measures short of the use of
force.
The Western-backed draft resolution to be discussed gives the Syrian government
10 days to withdraw heavy weapons from cities and return troops to barracks,
otherwise a further resolution on sanctions will be submitted to the Security
Council.
But the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says that with Russia resisting
all efforts to persuade it to take a tougher line with Syria, there is
virtually no hope of concerted international action to pull the country back
from the brink.
In other developments:
Turkish officials report two Syrian generals are among hundreds of refugees
who fled into Turkey overnight, bringing the total number of fleeing generals
to 20
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to discuss the Syrian
crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Iraq warns its citizens to flee the violence, hours after the bodies of two
killed journalists were handed over by the Syrian authorities
'Damascus volcano'
The area around the national security building, in Rawda district, has been
sealed off.
Witnesses at the site of the bombing said the area had been cordoned off and
journalists were banned from approaching.
"The terrorist explosion which targeted the national security building in
Damascus occurred during a meeting of ministers and a number of heads of
[security] agencies," the TV said.
Earlier activists reported more clashes during the night in several areas
around the south-west of Damascus.
They said the government had brought more troops and armour into some
districts, and that several people had been killed in clashes and bombardments.
A rebel spokeswoman, Susan Ahmad, told the BBC the entrances to Damascus were
closed in the morning.
"We heard the sounds of explosions every now and then all around Damascus," she
said.
"Now tanks are storming into al-Qaboun [district], shelling everything,
shelling residential houses, shooting every moving thing and they are trying to
arrest people and kill.
"People are trying to run away and get out of al-Qaboun."
Activists have also posted on the internet pictures of what they say is a
barracks on the heights overlooking the city engulfed in flames.
They believed it had been hit by fire from Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels, and
said the barracks is involved in providing security for the presidential palace
complex below.
State media said security forces fought off attacks by small groups of armed
terrorists in the city.
But the TV carried night-time footage of troops deployed in the Midan quarter,
in some very tense and deserted streets.
The rebels have declared a final battle for the capital, calling it Operation
Damascus Volcano, and have been fighting troops in several parts of Damascus
for the past three days.
The fighting reached central areas on Tuesday, with gunfire and plumes of smoke
reported in a street near parliament.
The Free Syrian Army said the operation was well planned, and they had sent
hundreds of fighters to the capital last week to be in place for the assault.
The rebels and the government often publish contradictory accounts of the same
incidents.
Western journalists are under heavy restrictions in Syria, making it difficult
to verify the claims of either side.
About 16,000 people have died in Syria since protests against the Assad regime
began in March last year.
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