A car bomb went off near a security office complex in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday, killing 17 people and wounding 14 others in the deadliest attack to strike the country in more than a decade, Syrian television reported. The car, packed with 200 kilograms of explosives, blew up on a road in a southern residential neighborhood, shattering dozens of car and apartment windows. The charred booby-trapped car was seen sitting in the street near a primary school as firefighters stood near a wide crater believed to be caused by the blast. The explosion knocked down part of a four-meter-high wall surrounding a security complex that houses several buildings in the Sidi Kadad area. Syrian Interior Minister Bassam Abdul-Majid called the bombing a "terrorist act" and said all the victims were civilians. Anti-terror units were investigating, he said. "We cannot accuse any party. There are ongoing investigations that will lead us to those who carried it out," Abdul-Majid told state TV. In New York, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, while not directly accusing Israel of complicity in the bombing, said that "Israel is at the top of the list of those who benefit from this type of action." Syrian political commentators and media outlets claimed Israel and the US were responsible for the car bomb which, they said, was aimed at Iranian nationals, Army Radio reported. They based their allegations on the fact the street on which the car exploded led to Saydah Zeinab, a pilgrimage site for Shi'ite Muslims from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. But according to Syria expert Joshua Landis, the location of the blast could as easily point to a homegrown Syrian group or an Iraqi Sunni group targeting Shi'ites. "The fear sparked by this attack is that terrorism has returned to Syria," wrote Landis, co-director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oklahoma, on his blog "Syria Comment" on Saturday. "During the late 1970s and 1980s, Syria experienced a steady and violent period of terrorist strikes, carried out by the radical wing of the Muslim Brotherhood." Such deadly bombings are rare in Syria, where the government uses heavy-handed tactics to crack down against dissent and instability. But over the past nine months, the country has witnessed two major assassinations, including one involving a car bomb. In February, a car bomb killed Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh. Hizbullah and its top ally, Iran, blamed Israel for the assassination, but Israel denied any involvement. Last month, Brig. Gen. Muhammad Suleiman, a senior military officer close to President Bashar Assad, was assassinated by a sniper on a yacht at a beach resort in the northern port city of Tartous. "The Syrian regime prides itself on stability; that's one of the things it sells to the public … that it can keep these attacks out of Syria," said another Syria expert, who spoke to The Jerusalem Post on condition of anonymity. "Now they are happening more often. That's not necessarily a good sign, for the regime and also for the Syrian people." The attack occurred as thousands of Syrian troops have amassed on Lebanon's border, ostensibly to combat smuggling. It is widely believed, however, that Syrian President Bashar Assad deployed the troops in response to sectarian battles occurring between Islamists in Northern Lebanon and Alawite Muslims - the same sect from which the government hails. Given that Saturday's attack took place near a military security installation, it's possible the attack was carried out by Islamists as an act of revenge, the second expert said. The secular government also says it is battling Sunni Muslim terrorists who have carried out several bombings and attacks against government institutions in recent years. But Saturday's bombing was by far the largest and tested weaknesses in the government's traditionally tight security grip. Several witnesses said the blast sounded like an earthquake struck their neighborhood. Mohammad Shubli, the owner of a toy shop, said after the blast he saw columns of smoke rising in the sky. "My house was completely damaged by the force of the blast," Shubli said. Another witness who was sleeping in his truck at the time of the blast said he it appeared as if the car bomb vehicle was a taxi. "I saw lots of smoke and the glass windows of my truck shattered," he told Syrian TV. The United States "condemned the bombing and all terrorist actions," said State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid. He said the US Embassy in Damascus would close its consular section through Tuesday except for emergency services because of the heightened security concern. According to the government newspaper Tishrin, several states condemned the attack or sent their condolences to Assad, including Russia, France and Italy. On New Year's Eve of 1997, a bomb went off aboard a public bus in Damascus, killing 12 people and wounding dozens. Syria blamed Israel for the bombing, though Israel denied the charge. In September 2006, Islamic terrorists tried to storm the US Embassy in Damascus in an unusually brazen attack in which three assailants and a Syrian guard were killed. Most of those attacks were linked to Jund al-Sham, an al-Qaida offshoot that was established in Afghanistan. Its members often denounce Assad's secular regime and have at times called for its overthrow. Syrian experts say al-Qaida has not made a concerted effort to act in Syria, not because of the strength of its security services, but because of Damascus's traditionally anti-Western stance. But in recent months, Syria has been trying to change its image and emerge from international isolation. Assad agreed to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon and has pursued indirect peace talks with Israel, mediated by Turkey. He says he wants direct talks next year. European, American and Arab officials also have increased their visits to the country after years of avoiding it.
