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Thursday, 2 August 2012

“Damascus July 18 bomber holed up in embassy”


The man who planted the bomb at the headquarters of the National Security Bureau (NSB) in Damascus on July 18 remains holed up in an embassy in the Syrian capital. His accomplice, who is privy to all details of the bombing, is in custody.
Isaiah, from the Ultimate Bible Picture Collection
The news is revealed today by Syria’s leading Lebanese media frontman Jean Aziz, writing for Syria’s Beirut mouthpiece daily al-Akhbar.
Aziz says the bomber was identified “within two hours of the blast.” CCTV cameras at and around NSB headquarters showed clearly how he carried out the operation. “Information gathered also showed a getaway car drive him immediately to one of two adjacent embassies in Damascus, one foreign and the other regional.”
Aziz suggests the July 18 bomb attack, which killed President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law and Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, Defense Minister Gen. Daoud Rajha, former Defense Minister Hassan Turkomani and NSB chief Hisham Ikhtiar, was meant to trigger a drawn-out “coup operation that was planned meticulously and professionally.”
The first precursor of the plot, according to Aziz, was Gen. Manaf Tlass’ defection “on Monday, July 2, in the hope he would be given a role after the coup.”
Having failed to cripple the regime’s “chain of command and control,” says Aziz, the putschists fell back on their “Plan B” – namely, to blitz Aleppo “in the hope of forcing a Libyan scenario” in Syria.
Aziz, a Lebanese socio-political activist, journalist, university professor and talk show host, concludes:
“One thing is certain about the battle for Aleppo -- its outcome will only come to light after a relatively long while.
“Oppositionists are optimistic. They draw strength from the Turkish buildup and their supply routes from there. They are also cheered by the inflow of Jihadists.
“Loyalists are bullish about Iran’s stern warning to Ankara to keep out (of the fray) and a Kurdish role marginalizing Massoud Barzani.
“Whose optimism is well-founded?
“It’s impossible to tell.
“What’s obvious is that the battle for Aleppo would belie Isaiah’s prophecy, Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins...’