The most recent news from Syria indicates that three high ranking officials of the President Bashar Assad’s crippling regime have been killed in a bomb attack in Damascus. Among the dead are its Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha (most senior Christian government official), President’s brother-in-law Asset Shawkat (Deputy Defense Minister) and General Hassan Turkmani, President’s senior aideand head of the crisis unit that manages the ongoing conflict in Syria. According to Reuters News Agency, the suicide bomber was a bodyguard of the inner circle and the bomb blast took place during a meeting among senior officials. The Free Syrian Army as well as another Islamic group claimed responsibility for the killings.
This is a huge blow to the President Assad’s regime and one of the most damaging event of the 16-month old uprising. President Assad belongs to a minority Alawite sector, an offshoot of Shiite Islam that took the power in 1963 coup. The uprising which began in 2011 has killed over 16,000 lives so far and the killing spree continues in spite of the U.N. sponsored peace plan. The international community is unable to intervene to stop the killing of Syrian people and Russia and China are stalling efforts of the western powers at the U.N.