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Rebels seize air defense base in southern Syria

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Syrian rebels on Saturday seized a major air defense base in a strategic region in the south near the Jordanian border, the latest battlefield triumph for fighters seeking to topple President Bashar Assad, activists said.

Fighters with a rebel group active in the south stormed and seized control of the base used by the 38th Division after a 16-day siege, according to a statement posted on websites of the group known as the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade. The base near the village of Saida is situated along the international highway linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with Jordan to the south.

Fighting in Syria‘s southern provinces bordering Jordan and Israel has increased sharply in the past few days. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people, mostly opposition fighters, were killed in heavy clashes this week in the Quneitra region along the cease-fire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights.

The Britain-based group, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said it had documented the deaths of 35 opposition fighters and that contact had been lost with more than 20 others believed to have died in the fighting. Dozens of others were wounded, the group said.

The fighting in the area intensified midweek after rebels seized a village and parts of other villages, closing in on the strategic plateau that Israel captured from Syria in 1967 and later annexed.

If the rebels take over the Quneitra region, it will bring radical Islamic militants to a front line with Israeli troops. The rebel force comprises dozens of groups, including the powerful Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, which the Obama administration labels a terrorist organization.

The Observatory said al-Nusra was among fighters who seized the air base in Daraa province. Both the rebels and the observatory reported that the opposition fighters killed the base commander.

In Damascus, supporters of Assad gathered in downtown amid tight security for the funeral of one of Syria‘s best-known clerics who was assassinated in a brazen mosque bombing earlier this week.

Security forces sealed off all roads leading to the eighth century Omayyad Mosque where the funeral for Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old pro-government cleric, was held.

Al-Buti, his grandson and 48 others were killed Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque where al-Buti was giving a religious lesson.

His assassination was a blow to Assad, who vowed Friday to avenge his death, saying he would “purge” the country of the militants behind the attack in the heart of the capital.

Both Assad and the rebels seeking his ouster have blamed each other for the bombing at the mosque.

Al-Buti, the most prominent religious figure killed so far in the 2-year-old conflict, had supported the regime since the early days of Assad’s father and predecessor, the late President Hafez Assad, providing legitimacy to their rule.

Mourners carried al-Buti and his grandson’s coffins, draped in white cloth, on their shoulders amid shouts of “God is Great.”

Al-Buti was imam of the Omayyad Mosque, a landmark in Damascus. Church bells tolled and mosque …read more
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Crowd gathers in Damascus to bury slain preacher

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Thousands of people have gathered in downtown Damascus amid tight security for the funeral of a senior pro-government cleric who was assassinated in a mosque earlier this week.

Security forces sealed off all roads leading to the eighth century Omayyad Mosque where the funeral for 84-year-old Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti was held.

Al-Buti, his grandson and 48 others were killed Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque where al-Buti was giving a religious lesson.

Mourners carried al-Buti and his grandson’s coffin on their shoulders Saturday amid shouts of “God is Great.”

Al-Buti was Imam of the Omayyad Mosque, a landmark in Damascus.

Syrian state TV said President Bashar Assad was being represented at the funeral by one of his cabinet ministers.

…read more
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Syria's Assad vows to cleanse nation of extremists

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President Bashar Assad vowed Friday to “wipe out” Muslim extremists in Syria, blaming them for a suicide bombing at a mosque that killed dozens of people, including a top cleric who supported the embattled regime in the civil war.

The death toll from Thursday night’s bombing — the first suicide attack on a mosque in two years of violence in Syria — rose to 49 after seven of the wounded died overnight, the Health Ministry said.

Sheik Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, a top Sunni preacher, was killed as he was giving a sermon in the mosque in the heart of the capital, Damascus. The blast, which also wounded nearly 80 other people, was one of the most brazen assassinations of the civil war, which has seen a number of suicide bombings blamed on Islamic extremists.

Al-Buti, 84, was the most senior religious figure killed in the civil war, and his slaying was a major blow to the president.

The preacher supported the regime since the early days of Assad’s father and predecessor, the late President Hafez Assad, providing a Sunni cover and legitimacy to their rule. Sunnis are the majority sect in Syria while Assad is from the minority Alawite sect — an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Al-Buti’s grandson was among the dead.

In a statement on Syria‘s state-run SANA news agency, Assad said al-Buti represented true Islam in facing “the forces of darkness and extremist” ideology.

“Your blood and your grandson’s, as well as that of all the nation’s martyrs will not go in vain because we will continue to follow your thinking to wipe out their darkness and clear our country of them,” Assad said.

Syria‘s main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, condemned the blast and expressed solidarity with the Syrian people, hinting that the bombing was the work of Assad’s regime.

The Assad regime doesn’t “hesitate to bomb mosques, universities, bakeries and residential areas with Scud missiles,” said an English statement by the group. “This regime is not deterred by anything to carry out bombings, killing the Syrian people without guilt.”

Syria‘s crisis started in March 2011 as peaceful protests against Assad’s authoritarian rule. The revolt turned into a civil war as some opposition supporters took up arms the fight a harsh government crackdown on dissent. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed since.

In Geneva, the U.N.’s top human rights body on Friday extended its probe into suspected abuses in Syria. By a vote of 41-1, the 47-nation U.N. Human Rights Council reauthorized the investigation, which is being conducted by a panel of four independent experts, until March 2014, a half-year longer than originally proposed.

Those in favor of the extension included the United States, Germany, Libya, Pakistan, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. Only Venezuela was opposed. Abstaining were Ecuador, India, Kazakhstan, Philippines and Uganda.

Earlier this month, the panel, which began its work in August 2011, said it was collecting evidence on 20 alleged massacres in Syria, a reflection of the civil war’s growing brutality.

An official at the ministry of religious affairs said …read more
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President Assad vows to clean Syria of extremists

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Syria‘s president has vowed to rid the country of Muslim extremists whom he blamed for a suicide bombing that killed 42 people, including a top Sunni preacher.

Friday’s statement by Bashar Assad came hours after the explosion ripped through a mosque in the heart of Damascus, killing Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti.

It was one of the most stunning assassinations of the two-year civil war and the first time a suicide bomber struck inside a mosque.

Al-Buti was a staunch supporter of Assad. More than 84 were wounded in the attack.

In the statement carried by Syria‘s state news agency, Assad says al-Buti represented true Islam in facing “the forces of darkness and extremist” ideology.

Assad says his forces will “wipe out” and “clean our country” of the attackers.

…read more
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Syria's Assad vows to "wipe out" extremists after top Sunni cleric killed

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The Syrian president vowed on Friday to rid the country of Muslim extremists whom he blamed for a suicide blast the previous evening that killed dozens of people, including a top Sunni preacher who was a staunch supporter of Bashar Assad.

And in a warning to rebels battling to topple his regime, the Syrian leader pledged that his troops will “wipe out” and clean the country of the “forces of darkness.”

Assad’s statement came as the Syrian Health Ministry raised the death toll from the Thursday night bombing in Damascus to 49, after seven of the wounded died overnight in hospital.

In the attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in the heart of the Syrian capital, killing Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti as he was giving a sermon. The blast also wounded 84 people.

It was one of the most stunning assassinations of the two-year civil war and marked a new low in the conflict: while suicide bombings blamed on Islamic extremists fighting with the rebels have become common, the latest attack was the first time a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque. The grandson of the 84-year-old al-Buti was among those killed in the attack.

In the statement carried by Syria‘s state SUNA news agency, Assad said al-Buti represented true Islam in facing “the forces of darkness and extremist” ideology.

“Your blood and your grandson’s, as well as that of all the nation’s martyrs will not go in vain because we will continue to follow your thinking to wipe out their darkness and clear our country of them,” said Assad.

Syria‘s crisis started in March 2011 as peaceful protests against Assad’s authoritarian rule. The revolt turned into a civil war as some opposition supporters took up arms the fight a harsh government crackdown on dissent. The U.N. says more than 70,000 people have been killed since.

It was not immediately clear when al-Buti’s funeral would take place. The government declared Saturday as a day of mourning and state-run Syrian TV halted its regular programs on Friday to air readings from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, as well as speeches of the late cleric.

Al-Buti was the most senior religious figure to be killed in Syria‘s civil war and his slaying was a major blow to Assad. The preacher had been a vocal supporter of the regime since the early days of Assad’s father and predecessor, the late President Hafez Assad, providing a Sunni cover and legitimacy to their rule. Sunnis are the majority sect in Syria while Assad is from the minority Alawite sect — an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

In a speech earlier this month, al-Buti had said it was “a religious duty to protect the values, the land and the nation” of Syria. “There is no difference between the army and the rest of the nation,” he said at the time — a clear endorsement of Assad’s forces in their effort to crush the rebels.

The mosque bombing was also among the most serious security breaches in Damascus. In July, an …read more
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Syria: Bombing kills top pro-Assad Sunni preacher

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A suicide bomb ripped through a mosque in the heart of the Syrian capital Thursday, killing a top Sunni Muslim preacher and outspoken supporter of President Bashar Assad in one of the most stunning assassinations of Syria‘s 2-year-old civil war. At least 41 others were killed and more than 84 wounded.

The slaying of Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti removes one of the few remaining pillars of support for Assad among the majority Sunni sect that has risen up against him.

It also marks a new low in the Syrian civil war: While suicide bombings blamed on Islamic extremists fighting with the rebels have become common, Thursday’s attack was the first time a suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a mosque.

A prolific writer whose sermons were regularly broadcast on TV, the 84-year-old al-Buti was killed while giving a religious lesson to students at the Eman Mosque in the central Mazraa district of Damascus.

The most senior religious figure to be killed in Syria‘s civil war, his assassination was a major blow to Syria‘s embattled leader, who is fighting mainly Sunni rebels seeking his ouster. Al-Buti has been a vocal supporter of the regime since the early days of Assad’s father and predecessor, the late President Hafez Assad, providing Sunni cover and legitimacy to their rule. Sunnis are the majority sect in Syria while Assad is from the minority Alawite sect — an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

“The blood of Sheik al-Buti will be a fire that ignites all the world,” said Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, the country’s top state-appointed Sunni Muslim cleric and an Assad loyalist.

Syrian TV showed footage of wounded people and bodies with severed limbs on the mosque’s blood-stained floor, and later, corpses covered in white body bags lined up in rows. Sirens wailed through the capital as ambulances rushed to the scene of the explosion, which was sealed off by the military.

Among those killed was al-Buti’s grandson, the TV said.

The bombing was among the most serious security breaches in the capital. An attack in July that targeted a high-level government crisis meeting killed four top regime officials, including Assad’s brother-in-law and the defense minister.

Last month, a car bomb that struck in the same area, which houses the headquarters of Syria‘s ruling Baath party, …read more
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