Analysis: A deadly blow to Syria's regime

[UnrepentantLiberal]

Bombing that killed senior Syrian security officials will breed more defections and mistrust at the highest levels.

Al Jazeera
July 18, 2012

For many Syrians this is the beginning of the end.

It might be a premature assessment but the explosion in Damascus, the capital, on Wednesday has dealt president Bashar al-Assad's regime one of its most severe blows on many levels. Symbolically, physiologically and practically.

What we know so far is that the explosion happened inside a conference room where senior security and government officials were meeting.

In Damascus, it’s called the crisis cell - the gathering place for key officials who are in charge of managing the situation on the ground.

The blast targeted security leaders who had the final say on how the government responds to the protest movement and the armed confrontations with fighters. These are the high ranking officials who have the president’s ears. They are the ones who implement Assad's vision.

More: http://m.aljazeera.com/Story/201271814342128612

Blast kills Assad brother-in-law, Syria's shadowy enforcer

By Erika Solomon
Reuters
July 18, 2012

BEIRUT — The world saw only a handful of pictures of Assef Shawkat. Few knew what he really did, or what power he wielded.

But any Syrian would have told you that President Bashar Assad's 62-year-old brother-in-law, reported to have been killed in a suicide attack in Damascus on Wednesday, was one of the pillars of Assad family rule.

Despite a difficult entry into the Assad clan, Shawkat was widely seen as a member of the president's inner circle. After years as deputy head and then chief of military intelligence, he had become deputy defense minister, another position that allowed him to wield power out of the limelight.

U.S. diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks described him as both a clever, well-read officer and as part of Syria's "killing problem."

More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48224460/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/blast-kills-assad-brother-in-law-syrias-shadowy-enforcer/

Profiles: Syria's fallen ministers were key figures in the suppression of the Syrian uprising

Generals Assef Shawkat and Daoud Rajiha were both considered key figures in the suppression of the Syrian uprising.

Al Jazeera
July 18, 2012

General Daoud Rajha, the Syrian defence minister, deputy general commander for the Syrian army and deputy prime minister, was killed on July 18 2012 when the National Security building in central Damascus was targeted by a suicide bomber during a meeting of high-level officials on Wednesday. The blast also fatally injured deputy defence minister Assef Shawkat, while others reportedly sustained serious injuries.

Rajha, who previously served as army chief of staff since 2004, succeeded his predecessor Ali Habib Mahmud as defence minister in August 2011, reportedly for his loyalty to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Washington imposed sanctions on Rajha in March, including a freeze of any assets held in US jurisdiction and a ban on conducting any business with Americans.

Born in 1967, Rajha was a Greek Orthodox Christian, a rarity for the Alawite-dominated Syrian military and government.

More: http://m.aljazeera.com/Story/2012718132147531114