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.
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Isaiah, from the Ultimate Bible Picture Collection
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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...’”
