Damascus Car Bomb Kills at Least 53

[Comrade Grumpy]

Source: Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A massive car bomb exploded near Syria's ruling party headquarters in Damascus on Thursday, killing at least 53 people and scattering mangled bodies amid the smoldering wreckage.

Syrian state media put the toll at 53 with more than 200 wounded. However, anti-regime activists said 59 died, which would make this the deadliest attack in the capital since the Syrian uprising began nearly two years ago. In May, a double suicide bombing killed 55 people in Damascus.

Three straight days of mortar attacks on the center of Damascus after recent rebel advances in the suburbs marked the most sustained rebel challenge in the heart of President Bashar Assad's seat of power.

Within hours of the car bombing, two other bombs went off elsewhere in the city and a mortar attack struck the army's central command. Thirteen people were killed by the other two bombs, activists said. While no group has claimed responsibility, the attacks suggest that rebel fighters who have gotten bogged down in their attempts to storm the capital are resorting to guerrilla tactics to loosen Assad's grip on the capital.

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Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Syria-says-53-killed-in-Damascus-car-bomb-4296073.php

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Much more in the article.

Reuters notes that "rebel fighters who have gotten bogged down in their attempts to storm the capital are resorting to guerrilla tactics to loosen Assad's grip on the capital."

When someone is exploding car bombs aimed at civilians, I think there is commonly a term other than "guerrilla tactics" that could be used.

[Mosby]

1. It's going to get worse

and I don't see Assad going anywhere, he has a great deal of support from various groups inside and outside Syria.

[Purveyor]

2. And these the 'rebel fighters' that some what the US to provide weapons to. eom

[riderinthestorm]

3. The MSM has been giving its orders that "Assad=bad and must go" so of course its guerrilla tactics

and not terrorism.

[geek tragedy]

4. It's sad that when dictators and terrorists fight, the

policy debate in the US isn't "how to we avoid getting stuck in that mess" but rather "which side should we arm."

Or in the case of the Iran-Iraq war, we arm both.

[kelliekat44]

5. I guess it's ok if innocent people are killed by the folks we support.? nt

[pampango]

6. I wish both sides would not attack civilians whether they use car bombs or aerial bombs or

artillery. They are not 'guerrilla tactics' or 'precision bombing' or 'smart artillery'. They are war crimes.

Alas I will not get my wish.

[David__77]

7. An athelete killed by insurgents yesterday, and now this.

The aim is clear: induce terror. The insurgents want not one square inch of Syria to know peace.

The people have been flowing either out of the country altogether, or to areas mainly under state control. Places like Sweida, Homs (more state-controlled than in any time in 1.5 years), Lattakia, and Tartous have seen their population swell with refugees from the places where Islamic courts have seized power. I imagine life is much better for anyone - Sunni, Shiite, Christian, or Alawite - in Tartous, than in a place like Aleppo, overrun by black-robed, bearded men from the countryside. It's like the Khmer Rouge in its fanaticism and religious component too.