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UPDATED: Assad’s brother-in-law, deputy defence minister killed by blast in Damascus

Syria’s Deputy defense minister and brother-in-law of President Assad were killed when a suicide bomber struck the National Security building in Damascus Wednesday during a … Continue reading UPDATED: Assad’s brother-in-law, deputy defence minister killed by blast in Damascus


Syria’s Deputy defense minister and brother-in-law of President Assad were killed when a suicide bomber struck the National Security building in Damascus Wednesday during a meeting of Cabinet ministers and senior security officials, state-run media said.

The blast came as the capital has seen four straight days of clashes pitting government troops against rebels, who are trying to bring down the regime by force.

Activists contacted by telephone reported an increased security presence around a hospital near the site of the reported explosion in northern Damascus, which they said indicated that senior officials had been wounded but there was no immediate confirmation of casualties.

The fighting is an unprecedented challenge to government rule in President Bashar Assad’s seat of power and a sign the civil war is likely to worsen as the regime in Syria struggles to halt the opposition’s growing momentum.

Syrian officials have dismissed claims of an all-out rebel offensive.

The violence has grown increasingly chaotic over the course of the uprising that began last year.