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AP/Tampa Bay Online A bomb ripped through a high-level security meeting Wednesday in Damascus, killing three top regime officials -- including President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law -- in the harshest blow to Syria's ruling family dynasty and the rebels' boldest attack in the country's civil war. Syrian state-run TV said the blast came during a meeting of Cabinet ministers and senior security officials in Damascus, which has seen four straight days of clashes between rebels and government troops. The high-level assassinations could signal a turning point in the civil war as the violence becomes increasingly chaotic. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the bombing showed that the bloodshed in Syria was "rapidly spinning out of control," and it was time for the international community to bring "maximum pressure" on Assad to step down and permit a stable transfer of power. The Assad family has ruled Syria for four decades, creating an ironclad and impenetrable regime. Wednesday's attack was an unheard-of strike on the inner circle. Syria's rebel commander, Riad al-Asaad, said his forces carried out the attack. Although state-run TV said it was a suicide blast, al-Asaad said his rebel forces planted a bomb in the room and detonated it. All those involved in carrying out the attack are safe, he said... State-run TV confirmed the deaths of two officials: Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, 65, a former army general and the most senior government official to be killed in the rebels' battle to oust Assad; and Gen. Assef Shawkat, the deputy defense minister and one of the most feared figures in Assad's inner circle. He is married to Assad's elder sister, Bushra. An authority with direct knowledge of the situation said Hassan Turkmani, a former defense minister, also was killed. Interior Minister Mohammed Shaar was wounded and in stable condition, state-run TV said. It was not immediately clear where Assad was; he gave no immediate statements on the attacks. READ FULL SOURCE STORY The BasicsProject.org informational and educational pamphlet series is now available for Kindle and iPad. Click here to find out more... The New Media Journal and BasicsProject.org are not funded by outside sources. We exist exclusively on tax deductible donations from our readers and contributors. Please make a tax deductible donation today. The BasicsProject.org informational and educational pamphlet series is now available for Kindle and iPad. Click here to find out more... The New Media Journal and BasicsProject.org are not funded by outside sources. We exist exclusively on tax deductible donations from our readers and contributors. Please make a tax deductible donation today.
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