[QUOTE][B]Four military guards were killed after suicide attackers drove vehicle bombs into the military HQ in the heart of Damascus, Syrian officials say.
[/B]
State TV contradicted earlier official accounts that no-one had died. It quoted army sources saying that 14 others were hurt in the attacks.
[B]The rebel Free Syrian Army and an Islamist group called Ansar al-Islam both said they carried out the attack.[/B]
State TV broadcast footage of a [B]minibus slowing before exploding at the HQ.[/B]
Gunfire reverberated around the city for hours after the bombings, as rebels fought with soldiers at the compound.
[B]Official media said "terrorist attackers"[/B] had opened fire inside the perimeter of the compound and in nearby streets, and security forces had confronted them.
As well as this attack, Ansar al-Islam has also said it was behind another assault on a school on Tuesday it said was being used by security forces and militiamen.
[B]State TV said those killed were guards at the compound, and both civilian and military personnel had been wounded.[/B]
Witnesses said the blasts ignited a fire that engulfed much of the main building that houses the army's General Staff.
[B]State media insisted earlier that no senior officers were hurt.[/B]
T[B]he blasts happened early in the morning close to one of the city's busiest areas, Umayyad Square, which is dominated by government buildings.[/B]
Roads leading to the area were blocked off as the authorities dealt with the aftermath.
Diplomats living close to the area said the blasts were the biggest they had heard for months.
Buildings more than 1km (half a mile) away shook violently under the force of the explosions.
[B]Shattered windows
The BBC's Rafid Jabboori in Damascus says the target and timing are very significant.[/B]
The staff command compound represents the heart of the Syrian army, he says.
And the attack comes days after the Free Syrian Army announced it had moved its command from Turkey to Syria in an apparent attempt to bolster its fight against regime forces.
BBC cameraman Phil Goodwin was in a hotel nearby when the attack struck.
[B]"The first blast shook the entire building I was in and sent a huge plume of smoke in the sky," he said.
[/B]
Damascus resident Jean-Pierre Duthion told the BBC that his building also shook and windows were shattered.
[/QUOTE]
BBC is the source, [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19725308[/url]
There is a video in the source.
I thought Ansar Al-Islam fell apart?
[QUOTE=Zambies!;37812870]I thought Ansar Al-Islam fell apart?[/QUOTE]
Well they both claimed responsibility so I guess it was a closely coordinated terrorist attack, I wish the FSA would actually respect western ideals if they're going to expect support from them.
[QUOTE=Chernarus;37812931] I wish the FSA would actually respect western ideals if they're going to expect support from them.[/QUOTE]
I don't think they do anymore, really.
In an age of drones and cheap electronics, I fail to see why a suicide bomber would be a viable tactic. Why not simply rig the car and drive it remotely using a tail car?
[QUOTE=ewitwins;37817303]In an age of drones and cheap electronics, I fail to see why a suicide bomber would be a viable tactic. Why not simply rig the car and drive it remotely using a tail car?[/QUOTE]
[video=youtube;DyLKHxrgo44]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyLKHxrgo44[/video]
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