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Subscribe to RSSSyrian rebels attack the staff headquarters of the Syrian military in Damascus on Wednesday morning. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
Updated at 6:20 a.m. ET: A bomb exploded in Damascus on Wednesday near a hotel used by United Nations monitors, Syrian state television reported.
The bomb, which was placed in a parking lot near the Dama Rose Hotel, blew up a fuel truck that sent clouds of black smoke into the sky above the capital. At least three people were reportedly injured.
A witness said the explosion had gone off at around 8.30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET) and damaged a building opposite the hotel, but appeared not to have damaged the hotel itself.
Syria's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, said none of the observers had been wounded in the blast, state television said. "This was a criminal act aimed at distorting Syria's image," it quoted him as saying.
Bassem Tellawi / AP
Security officers investigate the scene after a bomb exploded outside a Damascus hotel popular with U.N. observers on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army told NBC News' Ayman Mohyeldin that the rebel forces were responsible for the attack, which was targeting military staff headquarters. Plans for the attacks on a high-level meeting of the chiefs of the different military branches had been in the works for close to a month, the FSA spokesman said.
Photos: Explosion hits near Damascus hotel used by UN
The area is home to a club for army officers and a building belonging to the ruling Baath Party and is also not far from the army command.
The explosion occurred as U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos was in the Syrian capital. However, her team is believed to be staying at a different hotel.
One of the most senior figures to defect from President Assad government today called the regime "an enemy of God". Former Prime Minister Riad Hijab said the government is losing its grip on the country and is collapsing. ITV's John Ray reports.
Video from the site of Wednesday's explosion broadcast by El-Ikhbariya, a pro-government channel, showed firefighters hosing down a steaming fuel truck whose tank was blasted open near the hotel. A row of white U.N. vehicles parked nearby was covered in ash and dust.
'Violence is increasing'
The bombing follows a statement Monday by the head of the U.N. monitors blaming both forces supporting the government of President Bashar Assad and rebel fighters for ignoring the plight of civilians.
"It is clear that violence is increasing in many parts of Syria," General Babacar Gaye, head of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria, told journalists in Damascus.
NBC News
People resisting the army of President Bashar al-Assad in northern Syria cope with loss and prepare for fighting.
"The indiscriminate use of heavy weapons by the government and targeted attacks by the opposition in urban centers are inflicting a heavy toll on innocent civilians.
"I deeply regret that none of the parties has prioritized the needs of civilians."
Eerie stillness in Aleppo as Syrian rebels pull back
Eighteen months of violence -- including alleged massacres by the regime -- has led to the deaths of more than 20,000, according to activists.
Iran meddling?
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Iran was building and training a militia to help Assad's regime battle the rebel fighters trying to topple him.
The Iranian efforts, said Panetta, will only add to the killing going on in the country and "bolster a regime that we think ultimately is going to come down."
The Syrian Prime Minister, who defected to the rebel side, said that President Bashar Assad's regime is near collapse. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin discusses.
Iran has accused the United States and its allies of similar intervention in Syria.
Sitting alongside Panetta at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the militia, which is generally made up of Syrian Shiite forces, is being used to take the pressure off the Syrian regime forces.
"Any army would be taxed with that kind of pace," Dempsey said. "They are having resupply problems, they are having morale problems, they are having the kind of wear and tear that would come of being in a fight for as long as they have."
Will world inaction help al-Qaida gain foothold in Syria?
Dempsey also said that it appears Syrian rebels were able to shoot down a Syrian warplane but said he has seen no indication that they are armed with heavy weapons or surface-to-air missiles, at least not yet.
Opposition forces claim to have shot down a Syrian plane and captured the pilot, but the Assad regime has denied the shooting. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
He says the MiG fighter could have been shot down with small arms fire. Syria has blamed the crash on a technical malfunction, but Dempsey said the cause "didn't appear to be mechanical."
Dempsey and Panetta voiced concerns about Iran's growing presence in Syria even as Assad's government steps up its aerial attacks against the rebel forces. Fierce fighting and attacks from warplanes and helicopter gunships have pushed the opposition forces back on key fronts, such as Aleppo.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
After months of protests and violent crackdowns, a look back at the violence that has overtaken the country.
Asked about military options for intervention in Syria, Dempsey said the U.S. has been in discussions with Jordan and Turkey about the possible need for a safe zone because the two countries neighboring Syria are seeing an influx of refugees fleeing the fighting.
US, Turkey explore no-fly zones over Syria
"And with a safe haven would probably come some form of no-fly zone, but we're not planning anything unilaterally," Dempsey said.
Machine guns operated by motorcycle brakes? Get a glimpse at the rebels fighting against Assad's forces in Syria's mountainous Jabal al-Zawiya area.
Panetta repeated assertions he made during an Associated Press interview Monday, saying that right now, creating a no-fly zone in the region "is not a front-burner issue" for the U.S. Instead, he said, the U.S. is focusing on providing humanitarian and nonlethal assistance and on ensuring the chemical and biological weapons in Syria are secure.
A no-fly zone would be a militarily enforced area in which outside nations would prohibit Syrian warplanes from flying and attacking Syria's own people.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
"...distorting Syria's image..."? Which image is that? Psychopathic Iron Fisted Leader? Genocide, murder, torture, rape? Privileged, upper, connected rich class and controlled, suppressed, keep in line or end up dead other class? I am NOT quite sure what this minister meant. I know we have spin and newspeak in the good ol USA but wow...."...distorting Syria's image..."?
(((Yawn))) You come back whem you have the real facts. Not the facts the US Jewish owned and operated media spoon feeds the naive fools in this country that have rarely missed a meal in their pizza, beer and sports obese corrupt 'gotta have it' lives.
"The AZ Cowgirl"
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... I love watching the poverty drip off the page when ignorant bottom feeding societal parasites like you leave a post ... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ... tooooooooo funny!!!!!!!
See what I mean folks. GED drop outs should be banned from this sight. They have no brains and what remains in there (caca) they cannot put into intelligible words. So, they use the HAHAHAHAHAHAHA semi-literate words to cover up their illiteracy. Panther Hunter? Hell, you'd a been lunch for even an elder toothless Panther by now, jajajajaja. (Pssst, your spelling stinks also).
Please point out the spelling errors you ignorant bottom feeding piece of trash ... I'll be waiting Goober!!
The radical Islamic fighters are pouring in from Libya, Egypt, Palestine; to fight with the rebels, it looks as if the Syrian government is on it's last legs; there is over 1 million Christians in Syria, they will have to go somewhere are be killed by the rebels; Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, now Syria will all be controlled by the fundamentalists, we will soon move against Iran, we are heading for a new world war; if our government continues on this path, they had better re-introduce the draft for all men and women of age, we can no longer project our power with part time Natl guard and reserve military.
The problem in Syria is that there is no clear side to choose from. The rebel images are peppered with the black flags and bandannas of Al Qaida. It is my opinion the Al Qaida will always be at war with the US and will seek to destroy all US interests. Now that they are in the open, perhaps the US should take the opportunity to extinguish them in drone attacks.
Then there is the Assad regime. The US knows better than to support a ruthless dictator who will destroy his own country just to stay in power. The world is appauled at the dead laying in the street, and the scale of destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Let Russia, Iran, Turkey and Saudi have the Syria that seems to be falling into a perpetual civil war. This has the hallmarks of turning into a sectarian proxy war, much like the 30 years war that began 394 years ago in the "Holy Roman Empire", which was neither holy nor Roman, nor an empire.
The problem in Syria are the war criminal US/Israel 'evil twins.'
The United Snakes (US/Israel/NATO) oil thieves are bankrupt and about ready to join others in the 'dust bin' of history - and look at them resist!!!!
"The AZ Cowgirl"
I am almost positive you couldn't possibly be any dumber ... how old are you little girl, 12?
Syrian 'rebel's take photos with kids on their laps but fool no one but the bankrupt United Snakes (US.Israel/NATO) oil thieves and baby killers. Hey, these are some of the cruelist low life MFer's (After the Jewish/US genociders, of course) the US has teamed up with to try and make the Middle East safer of the Jew terrorist MF'ers and endless US imperielism. Any American that can support the criminal acts of this turned rogue nation gone amoke - needs to go see his nearest psychiatrist and PRONTO! The coming months will bring more death to the people of Syria and what do the Pentagon ghouls care. I mean 3.9m massacred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia was no biggie for these Pentagon ghouls and the 1.4m slaughter of innocents in Iraq, and now deaths exceeding 300,000 in AF/PAK, Somalia and Yemen do not make those low life cold-blooded killers MF'er's flinch and the American 'sheeple' have not said 'boo!'. And, to think we blamed the German people for the cold blooded Nazi's 'crimes against humanity' and today the American people are behaving 'no better.' Yassar, Reverend Jarimiah Wright you were sooooooo right: "God damn AmeriKKKa!
You're an idiot you bottom feeding piece of human waste ... you are far too dumb for words and have done nothing more than post a paragraph of lies and ignorance.
Hopefully you'll be run over by a moving van this afternoon and then be dragged down the thoroughfare until you body fluids have been expelled.
(((Yawn))) Hey, get off unemployment and food stamps and get a job, pendejo!
Hey, Cowboy,
Didn't your Mammy tell you not to eat the cow flop?
Before Assad and his family came to power, this was an everyday thing. Assad helped restore security to a fractured nation: christians and muslims lived by each other in peace. Granted, his rule may have been iron-fisted, but let's take a look at Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, how well did "freedom" work out? Terrorists are now running Libya, Afghanistan is now the biggest producer of heroine, and Iraq has seen nearly 1 million dead since 2003.
Thank you so much Western Countries for bringing "peace" and "liberty" into these nations! (irony included).
It is all done to benefit Israel and US military industrial complex. We should have negotiated peace with Taliban 10 years ago, when we were in a strong position after the war. Instead we created a totally corrupt government of Mr. Karzai-the-crook and his gang of 40 thousand thieves. We reap what we saw...
Saddam's two fisted style kept 'peace in the valley' in Iraq and look what US/Irsal/NATO 'dispensed war crimes' and pseudo-democracy has done to Iraq. Now, the simpletons in the Pentagon prepare the Middle East for another 'Iraq' with the daily car bombings, assassinations and havoc. Thanks United Snakes, may the car bombers pay you a long term visit in your cities real soon!
Syria's opposition is crawling with real terrorists. The only reason US is foolishly supporting them is because Israel would rather have a weak, Lebanon like Syria, than strong Syria allied with Iran. It has nothing to do with 'liberty' for the Syrian people.
Unfortunately all of the U.N. monitors are still standing ...
LQQKIE here folks a 'real' American intellectual speakeths!!!
See why the Jews own AmeriKKKa?
Gringo Pendejo!!!
"AZ Cowgirl"...
Ignorant bottom feeding traitors like you should be put in cages and made to survive solely on your own excrement ...
Just the "Golden Rule" at work ..... "He who has the gold rules!"
You won't get any truth from the corporate whore/government media, but you have to admire their ability for pathological lying and propaganda. How convenient that Panetta has tied in Iran to the evil Syrian government. A story about Assad and Ahmadinejad cannibalizing babies can't be far off now; and war in Iran.
The United Nations is no more than a tool used by a select few for self-serving purposes. The Sovereignty of States throughout the World are at risk today.
Ensnaring and entangling Nations thru 'Globalization' and 'Free Trade Agreements' has been a well planned and, so far, successful policy of the wealthy and powerful Elite few.
The 'Republic of the United States of America' needs the government it's Forefathers had intended for it, not the corrupt regime known as the
'Washington Establishment' which is so eager to sell off our Sovereignty to the highest bidders.
The evidence is in-arabs, by nature, are vicious, ignorant, murderous animals. They don't care who they kill, or how much suffering they cause, as long as their blood-lust is satisfied.
NO ONE CAN HONESTLY DISPUTE THIS TERRIBLE FACT.
Ever read history books about medieval Christian Europe? There were some truly ignorant animals running the Church back then. And Reformation was not much better. Religious fanatics are worse than Nazis. These Muslim fanatics are just a couple of centuries behind the Christian fanatics curve.
You are referring to the leaders of the church. I am referring to the Arab culture.
Europe emerged from its darkness after the fall of Hitler.
Arab culture is the same in all Middle-Eastern nations, and has infected Asia through the spread of Islam.
The Arab solution to everything is maiming and death.
It was not just leaders of the Church. The entire Christian culture was ignorant and fanatical - that is why these times were called the dark age. Christians butchered more people in the name of their religion than anybody else. Muslims are just trying to catch up.
I'm in dispute with the claim, b/c this is about syria people winning their freedom and the right to elect their leader of "their" choosing. This conflict isn't about religious freaks trying to overthrown Assad's government, but rather the opposite.
from NBC embedded reporter - Myth: FSA are al-Qaida or at least infiltrated by al-Qaida. There's no evidence of a large al-Qaida presence. This is not an al-Qaida fight. In the last day, we have met three rebel commanders. One was an air-conditioner repairman before the war. and a tomato and zucchini farmer. The third grew grain and lentils. One of the commanders considers himself an Islamist. The other two are more secular.
In total, the three commanders control about 1,500 men. Not one of the commanders supports al-Qaida, nor have any of the dozens rebels have we have met. Some reports that al-Qaida fighters had recently taken over the Baab al-Howa border crossing. There was a video that showed rebels carrying an all black flag, similar to ones favored by al-Qaida. We spoke with the rebel leader who carried the flag. He said he has nothing to do with al-Qaida and the flag was an Islamic one.
John Where are you coming from man , did you look at these thugs throwing people from roof tops beheading them in public , these thugs are monsters and if you evidence , why don't you go there and see what they do to you , people like you cannot see the end of you own nose , so now you do not even believe Richard Alqaida Engel either , not even our government , You must an Israeli politicians , or a tea party boy , or maybe Sarah Palin under the name of John , I know you going to give that crap about you voted for Obama , So what he is arming these Alqaida thugs with Hillary any way . I guess you want proof of that too . You spoke to the rebel leader , Wow I guess you are the one that put the reports about the WMD in Iraq too .
like Assad, Assad's forces that slauightered tens of thousands of syrians deserves to die a harsh death, I would have hanged them all, especially the Assad's thugs that tortured children to death in one of Assad's torture chambers, send a message to Assad's forces, defend Assad's genocide and die a harsh death, have no problem with killing mass murdering killers. You support a mass murdering dictator and I support the freedom fighters, that is the difference between us, as far as you claiming that I'm a republican or a tea party you are also wrong there too, I'm a obama supporter