CANADA/SYRIA: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says it's too soon to say who attacked the U.S. embassy in Damascus

Record ID: 278724

  • Title: CANADA/SYRIA: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says it's too soon to say who attacked the U.S. embassy in Damascus
  • Date: 12th September 2006
  • Summary: (BN08) DAMASCUS, SYRIA (SEPTEMBER 12, 2006) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RESIDENTS AND POLICE STANDING IN STREET (4 SHOTS) AMBULANCE
  • Embargoed: 27th September 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAE5VQKI3FJWG13UHMA3HCIW1WY
  • Story Text: It is too early to say who might have been behind a failed attack on the U.S. Embassy in Syria, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday (September 12).
    Four men shouting Islamic slogans tried to blow up the embassy in Damascus, but their car bomb failed to go off and Syrian security guards killed three of them in a shootout. The state news agency SANA said a Syrian guard was also killed.
    "I don't know and it is too early to tell who might have been responsible for the attack. Obviously, we will do the forensics on it and begin to try to get a sense of what happened there," Rice told a news conference in the eastern Canadian town of Stellarton after talks with Foreign Minister Peter MacKay of Canada.
    Rice thanked Syrian security forces and expressed condolences over the death of the guard.
    "I do think that the Syrians reacted to this attack in a way that helped us secure our people and we very much appreciate that," she said.
    No American diplomats were hurt in the assault.
    Syrian-U.S. relations have been tense for many years, mainly over Syria's role in Lebanon, the Middle East conflict and Iraq, and its support of militant groups in the region.
    The official news agency SANA said three attackers had been killed and a fourth wounded. A Syrian official said earlier that all four assailants had died.
    One witness said at least one Syrian security guard had been killed by the attackers, who had been shouting Islamic slogans.
    Syrian state television said the attackers had tried but failed to detonate a car bomb.
    Television footage of the scene showed a van packed with gas canisters and detonators taped to them, as well as bloodstains on the pavement and several damaged vehicles, including a white bullet-riddled car that a truck was preparing to haul away.
    The embassy flag was flying at half-mast, one day after the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 al Qaeda attacks on the United States.
    The Rawda area where the attack occurred is one of the most heavily guarded districts in the Syrian capital. It houses security installations and the homes of government officials.
    Hours later, the area remained sealed, with sharpshooters deployed on rooftops and top security officials at the scene.
    Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majid told state television an investigation was under way.
    "It is clearly a terrorist attack targeting the American embassy. A terrorist group - the identity of which is still unclear. Investigations are underway. One of them who is wounded has been arrested. The investigation will possibly reveal some background," Majid said.
    Security officials said the assailants' arsenal included rocket-propelled grenades. It was not known if they had fired them during the mid-morning gunbattle in central Damascus.
    There was no word on the identity of the attackers, but Syrian forces have clashed with Islamist militants several times in recent months, often during raids to arrest them.
    In June, four gunmen and a guard were killed when Syrian security forces said they had foiled an attack by Islamist militants near the premises of state-run television in Damascus.
    The United States recalled its ambassador from Syria in February 2005, expressing "profound outrage" over the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut. Washington blames Syria for that killing. Damascus denies any involvement.
    The United States increased its criticism of Syria during Israel's 34-day war in July and August with Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas, who are supported by Syria and Iran.
    Syria, accused by Washington of helping insurgents in Iraq and backing Hizbollah and the Palestinian Hamas movement, blames the rise of militancy in the region on U.S. policies such as the Iraq war and U.S. support for Israel.
    In the early 1980s, Syria crushed an armed revolt led by the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
    The embassy assault occurred one day after the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.
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