Syrian state TV has claimed three senior officials of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime have died in a suicide bomb during a meeting at the national security headquarters on Wednesday morning.
Defence Minister General Daoud Rajiha, feared security chief and Assad’s brother-in-law Gen Assef Shawkat and former defence minister and head of Assad’s crisis management office Gen Hassan Turkomani were reported killed in the blast.
“The terrorist explosion which targeted the national security building in Damascus occurred during a meeting of ministers and a number of heads of [security] agencies," state TV said.
Reporters in Damascus have reported that the building has no apparent signs of damage and that security was normal in the area.
No footage of the attack or its aftermath has yet emerged.
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) and a group calling itself Lord of the Martyrs Brigade have both claimed to be behind the attack, which was reportedly committed by a bodyguard.
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said the situation in Syria was ‘spinning out of control’ and called on Assad to step down.
He said the international community needs to “bring maximum pressure on President Bashar Assad to do what's right, to step down and allow for that peaceful transition."
A vote at the UN Security Council was postponed earlier today as detail of the bomb blast emerged.
The West-backed resolution threatens Syria with tougher sanctions; however it is still opposed by Russia.
According to Interfax news agency, US president Obama and his Russian counterpart Putin discussed the crisis during a telephone call earlier today and although they agreed on a final goal, they could not come to an agreement over how to reach it.
