Syrian army general assassinated in Damascus
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BEIRUT -- Gunmen assassinated an army general in Damascus Saturday in the first killing of a high ranking military officer in the Syrian capital since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime began in March, the country's state-run news agency said.
The attack could be a sign that armed members of the opposition, who have carried out attacks on the military elsewhere in the country, are trying to step up action in the tightly controlled capital, which has been relatively quiet compared to other cities.
SANA news agency reported that three gunmen opened fire at Brig. Gen. Issa al-Khouli Saturday morning as he left his home in the Damascus neighborhood of Rukn-Eddine. Gen. Khouli was a doctor and the chief of a military hospital in the capital.
Capt. Ammar al-Wawi of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group that wants to bring down the regime by force, denied involvement in the assassination, which came a day after two suicide car bombers struck security compounds in Aleppo.
Such assassinations are not uncommon outside Damascus and army officers have been killed in the past, mostly in the restive provinces of Homs and Idlib.
Also on Saturday, clashes between pro- and anti-Syria gunmen in a northern Lebanese city left two people dead and 12 wounded in the latest skirmish between Lebanese factions over the crisis in neighboring Syria, security officials said.
The two sides fired on each other from rival neighborhoods in Tripoli, one dominated by Sunnis, the other by Alawites. Officials said clashes started Friday night and continued sporadically Saturday.
Lebanese factions have been divided over the Syrian uprising, and tensions have intensified with the regime's siege of the central Syrian city of Homs that has reportedly killed hundreds this week. Mr. Assad's regime is dominated by Alawites, while the revolt against him has been led by Sunnis.
First Published February 12, 2012 12:00 am
