Syria declared a state of war and mobilized troops to neutralize "terrorists who threaten us," Al-Quds newspaper reported Thursday evening. Operation "Bayrak al-Assad" was implemented secretly, mobilizing full military forces in Syria for concentrated offensives on cities across the country, according to the report. The military operation is a continuation of Syrian President Bashar Assad's violent crackdown against pro-democracy activists which began in March. The difference however, according to the Al-Quds report, is that with this declaration, Assad has declared that the state is no longer simply crushing terrorist elements during peacetime, but rather in a state of war.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)