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Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi survives assassination bid
Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi escaped an assassination bid on Monday, surviving a blast against his convoy in Damascus, in the latest attack on top members of President Bashar al-Assads regime.The attack came as Republican lawmakers in the United States stepped up calls for American action after claims Assads regime used chemical weapons against its population during its battle against an uprising now in its third year. Syrian state television said Halqi was unharmed in the blast in the Mazzeh district of the capital. The terrorist explosion in Mazzeh was an attempt to target the prime ministers convoy and Dr. Wael al-Halqi was unharmed, state television reported, adding that the blast had caused casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said one of Halqis bodyguards had been killed. A second bodyguard and the driver are in critical condition, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that the convoy appeared to have been targeted by a remotely-detonated car bomb. State television said the explosion happened near a public garden and a school in the neighbourhood, a well-secured district that is home to embassies, government buildings, intelligence facilities and several political figures. Posted by: tipper 2013-04-29 |
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