Blame game starts as bombs blast Syrian security agency

Twin suicide car bombs blasted outside two buildings of Syria’s powerful intelligence agencies yesterday, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 100 in the first such attacks since the country was thrown into turmoil by the nine-month-old uprising against the rule of president Bashar al-Assad.

The government said the explosions were proof of its claims that it is battling terrorists intent on overthrowing the regime. However, its opponents cast doubt on that account, claiming the regime itself was behind the attack to make its case to Arab observers who arrived in the country on Thursday.

The morning explosions left destruction, with torn bodies on the ground outside the headquarters of the General Intelligence Agency and a nearby branch of military intelligence, two agencies that have played a significant role in the bloody campaign against anti-Assad protests since March.

All the windows in the military building were blown out and dozens of burned-out cars lined the street.

State television said initial investigations indicated possible involvement by al-Qaeda. Government officials brought the advance team of Arab League observers to the scene to see the wreckage.

“We said it from the beginning, this is terrorism. They are killing the army and civilians,” deputy foreign minister Faysal Mekdad told reporters outside the intelligence headquarters.

Alongside him, the advance team’s head, Sameer Seif el-Yazal, said, “We are here to see the facts on the ground …What we are seeing today is regrettable, the important thing is for things to calm down.”

Opposition figures hit out at the claims.

Omar Idilbi, a member of the Syrian National Council, an anti-regime umbrella group, called the explosions “very mysterious because they happened in heavily guarded areas that are difficult to be penetrated by a car”.

He stopped short of accusing the regime in the bombings, but he said authorities wanted “to give this story” to scare observers from moving around the country.

A Free Syrian spokesman denied responsibility for the attack.

He said: “Two years ago I was in those buildings. You cannot get inside these buildings.

“There are guards and checkpoints every 50 metres before you get close to the outside walls.

“The gates are high, with heavy security all around. If you are not from inside the regime, it is impossible. Nobody else could do this. Even the Free Syrian Army don’t dream of attacking these buildings.”

He added: “We all know that this is from the regime. This was not done by us.”

Mr Assad’s regime has long contended that the violence in the country is being fuelled by terrorists and foreign-backed armed gangs.

In recent months, dissident soldiers have broken from the military to side with peaceful protesters and have carried out attacks on government forces.

However, yesterday’s attack was different from any past attacks – the first suicide bombings seen during the conflict – and whoever was behind them, they add new and ominous dimensions to a conflict that has already taken the country to the brink of civil war.

A military official told reporters that more than 40 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Earlier, state TV said most of the dead were civilians but included military and security personnel.