Syria: Defectors Attack Intel Complex Near Damascus
Syrian army defectors attacked an intelligence base near Damascus early on Wednesday, in the first reported assault on a major security facility since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime started exactly eight months ago, activists said.
According to Reuters, members of the Free Syrian Army fired shoulder-mounted rockets and machineguns at a large Air Force Intelligence complex situated near Harasta on the northern edge of the Damascus-Aleppo highway at about 2:30 a.m..
A gunfight ensued and helicopters circled the area, the sources said.
Meanwhile, a senior Saudi prince said al-Assad’s refusal to halt the violence has made his departure from power inevitable. Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former chief of Saudi intelligence services, said Assad had made his position clear by failing to live up to commitments made under an Arab League initiative to stop the bloodshed and start political dialogue.
