Region | Syria
Syria accuses Fatah of suicide bomb attack
Syria said on Thursday that an Islamist militant group active in neighbouring Lebanon was behind a suicide car bomb attack that killed 17 people in Damascus in September.
- Agencies
- Published: 08:04 November 7, 2008
Damascus: Syria said on Thursday that an Islamist militant group active in neighbouring Lebanon was behind a suicide car bomb attack that killed 17 people in Damascus in September.
State television showed what it said were 12 members of Fatah Al Islam, an Al Qaida-inspired group that first emerged in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, confessing that they had helped plan the September 27 attack on an intelligence complex in the Syrian capital.
Abdel Baqi Hussein, a Syrian who identified himself as the security coordinator of Fatah Al Islam, said the explosives had been smuggled from Lebanon and the suicide bomber was a Saudi national called Abu Aisha.
"The objective was to rattle the Syrian regime," Hussein said.
He said he had discussed logistics with several Fatah Al Islam members in Lebanon, and that the car used in the bombing was a stolen Iraqi-registered taxi that had operated on the Damascus-Baghdad route.
Syria's ties with Saudi Arabia and Iraq have been tense in recent years. Several Iraqi officials accuse Damascus of turning a blind eye to Islamist fighters crossing into Iraq.
Saudi Arabia is unhappy with Syria's support for the Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah and the suspected role of Syrian officials in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri. Damascus denies involvement.
Syrian officials have warned of what they termed a terrorist threat from Lebanon, and linked the September 27 bombing to attacks on the Lebanese army that killed 22 people in August and September.
Syria says Fatah Al Islam has spread to take in members and sympathisers across the Arab world.
Lebanese public prosecutor Said Mirza last month accused 34 men including Syrians, Saudis, Lebanese and Palestinians of belonging to the Fatah Al Islam cell behind the attacks on the army.
Share this article
Popular in News
News Editor's choice
-
Into an oasis of values
A place to snuggle in the warmth of old manners away from the bustle of city life
-
The walking MP
Rory Stewart's long walk in life has taken a new turn
-
What drives Africa's new kind of refugees?
Warming-driven factors have led many in the continent to flee their homes
