Suicide attack targets Syrian security building
A suicide attack targeted a security building in Syrian capital Damascus today, according to state-run TV.
There was no immediate word on casualties.
The attack came as troops reportedly inflicted heavy casualties on rebel forces in Damascus.
The SANA news agency said troops were chasing rebels in the Midan neighbourhood, causing “great losses among them”.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said army helicopters attacked the neighbourhoods of Qaboun and Barzeh in the fourth straight day of fighting in the capital.
The clashes came with a UN vote set for later today on a new Syria resolution, but Russia and the West remain at odds over sanctions.
The suicide bomber struck the National Security building, less than 500 yards from the US Embassy, during a meeting of cabinet ministers and senior security officials, state-run media said.
Witnesses said police had cordoned off the area and journalists were banned from approaching the site.
The violence has grown increasingly chaotic over the course of the uprising. Besides the government crackdown, rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest al Qaida or other extremists are joining the fray.
Activists say more than 17,000 people have been killed in the uprising.
The key stumbling block to agreement at the UN is the Western demand for a resolution threatening non-military sanctions, tied to Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, which could eventually allow the use of force to end the conflict in Syria.
Russia is opposed to any mention of sanctions or Chapter 7. After Security Council consultations late yesterday on a revised draft resolution pushed by Moscow, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Alexander Pankin said these remain “red lines”.
Russia has said it will veto any Chapter 7 resolution, but council diplomats said there is still a possibility of last-minute negotiations.
