18 July 2012 Damascus bombing
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The 18 July 2012 Damascus bombing of the National Security headquarters in
Rawda Square Al-Rawda Square ( ar, ساحة الروضة / ALA-LC: ''sāḥat ar-Rawḍah'') is a square in north-west Damascus. The square is the location of the National Security Building, where the Defence Minister as well as President President most c ...
,
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
, killed and injured a number of top military and security officials of the Syrian government. Among the dead were the Syrian Defense Minister and Deputy Defense Minister. The incident occurred during the Syrian Civil War, and is considered to be one of the most notorious events to affect the conflict. Syrian state-controlled television reported that it was a suicide attack while the opposition claims it was a remotely detonated bomb.


Bombing

The attack, during a meeting of the
Central Crisis Management Cell The Central Crisis Management Cell (CCMC) ( ar, خلية إدارة الأزمة السورية), also known as the ''Syrian Crisis Cell'', is a secret security committee established by the Syrian government in March 2011 to coordinate the respons ...
comprising ministers and a number of heads of security agencies, resulted in the death of the Syrian Defense Minister General
Dawoud Rajiha Dawoud Abdallah Rajiha ( ar, داود راجحة‎; 1947 – 18 July 2012), forename sometimes transliterated Dawood or Daoud, surname sometimes transliterated Rajha, was the Syrian minister of defense from 2011 to July 2012 when he was assas ...
. Also killed were
Assef Shawkat Assef Shawkat ( ar, آصِفُ شَوْكَتْ, ʾĀṣif Šawkat‎; 15 January 1950 – 18 July 2012) was the deputy Minister of Defense of Syria from September 2011 until his death in July 2012. He was the brother-in-law of Syrian Preside ...
, president Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law and deputy defense minister, the assistant to the vice president General
Hasan Turkmani Hasan Ali Turkmani ( ar, حسن توركماني; 27 January 1935 – 18 July 2012) was a prominent Syrian military commander and Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party member. He served as the minister of defense in Syria from 2004 to 2009. He and t ...
, and
Hafez Makhlouf Hafez Mohamad Makhlouf ( ar, حافظ مخلوف‎; born 2 April 1971), also known as Hafez Makhlouf, is a retired Syrian colonel and former intelligence officer who was head of the Damascus branch of the Syrian General Intelligence Director ...
, head of investigations at the Syrian Intelligence Agency. However, Hafez Makhlouf was also reported to be wounded. The country's intelligence and national security chief
Hisham Ikhtiyar Major General Hisham Ikhtiyar ( ar, هشام اختيار); 1941 – 20 July 2012) (family name also transliterated as Ikhtiar, Bakhtiar, Bekhityar, Bekhtyar and other variants) was a Syrian military official, and a national security adviser to p ...
was seriously wounded. There were conflicting reports on the fate of the Interior minister Mohammad al-Shaar with initial accounts stating that he had also been killed, but later state TV reported that he survived although wounded. Additional reports stated that he was in stable condition. Al-Shaar was reported dead later, according to
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
. Mohammed Saeed Bekheitan, the national secretary of the
Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
, was also wounded in the bombing. On 20 July 2012, the death of Hisham Ikhtiyar was confirmed by Syrian authorities.


Victims

* General
Dawoud Rajiha Dawoud Abdallah Rajiha ( ar, داود راجحة‎; 1947 – 18 July 2012), forename sometimes transliterated Dawood or Daoud, surname sometimes transliterated Rajha, was the Syrian minister of defense from 2011 to July 2012 when he was assas ...
– Defense Minister – confirmed dead. * General
Assef Shawkat Assef Shawkat ( ar, آصِفُ شَوْكَتْ, ʾĀṣif Šawkat‎; 15 January 1950 – 18 July 2012) was the deputy Minister of Defense of Syria from September 2011 until his death in July 2012. He was the brother-in-law of Syrian Preside ...
– President
Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
's brother-in-law and Deputy
Defense Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
– confirmed dead. * General
Hasan Turkmani Hasan Ali Turkmani ( ar, حسن توركماني; 27 January 1935 – 18 July 2012) was a prominent Syrian military commander and Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party member. He served as the minister of defense in Syria from 2004 to 2009. He and t ...
– Assistant to the Vice President
Farouk al-Sharaa Farouk al-Sharaa ( ar, فاروق الشرع; born 10 December 1938) is a Syrian politician and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent officials in the Syrian government and served as foreign minister of Syria from 1984 until 2006 when he bec ...
and former Defense Minister – confirmed dead. * General
Hisham Ikhtiyar Major General Hisham Ikhtiyar ( ar, هشام اختيار); 1941 – 20 July 2012) (family name also transliterated as Ikhtiar, Bakhtiar, Bekhityar, Bekhtyar and other variants) was a Syrian military official, and a national security adviser to p ...
– Director of the National Security Bureau – confirmed dead. * General
Maher al-Assad Maher al-Assad ( ar, مَاهِرُ ٱلْأَسَدِ, Māhir al-ʾAsad, born 8 December 1967) is a Syrian general and commander of the Republican Guard and the army's elite Fourth Armoured Division, which together with Syria's secret police ...
– President Bashar al-Assad's younger brother and the commander of the
Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...
– wounded, reports of him losing a leg. * Colonel
Hafez Makhlouf Hafez Mohamad Makhlouf ( ar, حافظ مخلوف‎; born 2 April 1971), also known as Hafez Makhlouf, is a retired Syrian colonel and former intelligence officer who was head of the Damascus branch of the Syrian General Intelligence Director ...
– President Bashar al-Assad's cousin and head of investigations at the General Security Directorate – wounded * General Mohammad al-Shaar
Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
– wounded * General Mohammed Saeed Bekheitan – Assistant National Secretary of the
Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused B ...
and former chief of the National Security Bureau – wounded


Perpetrators

The bomber was reportedly a bodyguard of one of the meeting's attendants. The opposition, meanwhile, claimed that the cause of the explosion was not a suicide bomber, but a rebel insider who planted a bomb inside the building and detonated it remotely from a distant location. Another report said that the bomb was hidden in the briefcase of Syrian Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar, who was injured in the blast.How Assad Staged Al Qaeda Bombings
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
The
Salafist The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
Liwa al-Islam ) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham * al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) * Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents ...
("Brigade of Islam") and the
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...
both claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Louay Almokdad Louay Almokdad ( ar, لؤي المقداد; born 20 December 1982) is a Syrian-British politician and businessman. He was born in 1982 in Damascus, Syria. Education He studied in Damascus until high school, and graduated from the American Un ...
, the Free Syrian Army's logistical coordinator, claimed that the attack was perpetrated by a group of Free Syrian Army members in coordination with drivers and bodyguards working for Assad's high-ranking officials. It was further stated that the two explosive devices, one made of 25 pounds of
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
, and the other a smaller C-4 plastic-explosive device, had been put in the room days before the meeting by a person working for Hisham Ikhtiyar. According to a 2016 ''
Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...
'' article, former Syrian general Mohamad Khalouf claimed Iran and Assad were actually responsible for the bombing. Khalouf said that the officials killed were more moderate members of the regime whom Iran wanted removed. Bassam Barabandi, a former Syrian diplomat, also blamed Iran. The same ''Daily Beast'' article also quoted Syrian intelligence sources that said Assad believed the dead officials were planning a coup against him, and that all investigations into the bombing were blocked. Former ambassador
Robert Stephen Ford Robert Stephen Ford (born 1958) is a retired American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Algeria from 2006 to 2008 and the United States Ambassador to Syria from 2011 to 2014. Personal life and education Ford is originall ...
said of the bombing, "I don't think we know how it was done."


Reaction


Domestic

Although there were no statements from President Assad himself, Syrian TV said after the attack that a
decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
from him named Gen.
Fahd Jassem al-Freij Fahd Jassem al-Freij ( ar, فهد جاسم الفريج) (born 17 January 1950) is the former Minister of Defense of Syria, took office on 18 July 2012 and left office on 1 January 2018. Early life and education Freij was born in Rahjan in a S ...
, who used to be the army chief of staff, as the new defense minister. Syrian state television said foreign-backed terrorists had carried out the attack. The country's armed forces said in a statement that Syria was "determined to confront all forms of terrorism and chop off any hand that harms national security". On 19 July 2012, Syrian state television broadcast images of President Assad at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, cutting short speculation fueled by his silence following the attack against his inner circle the previous day. In the images broadcast by the television, Assad was seen in blue suit, receiving the new defense minister,
Fahd Jassem al-Freij Fahd Jassem al-Freij ( ar, فهد جاسم الفريج) (born 17 January 1950) is the former Minister of Defense of Syria, took office on 18 July 2012 and left office on 1 January 2018. Early life and education Freij was born in Rahjan in a S ...
, after the swearing ceremony. According to Israeli newspaper ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'', the state TV announcement appeared aimed at sending the message that Assad is alive, well and still firmly in charge. It said Assad wished the new defense minister good luck but it did not say where the swearing-in took place. Nor did it show any photos or video of the ceremony, as it usually would.


International

* – The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
condemned the bombing, adding that "the only way of resolving the current crisis in Syria is through talks." Iranian ambassador claimed that the bombing had been a work of foreign intelligence agencies and ruled out the possibility of FSA being able to carry out such operation. * –
Defense Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
urgently summoned intelligence and security officials to discuss possible implications of the rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria. They included Chief of the General Staff of the IDF Lt. Gen.
Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel sin ...
and heads of the Northern Command, Military Intelligence Department, the
Planning Directorate The Planning Directorate was the central body in the Israel Defense Forces' General Staff whose focus was on the strategic and tactical planning, the building of military forces, and military organization of the armed forces. It also served as a ...
and the various IDF branches. * – King
Abdullah II Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...
stated that this assassination of members of Assad's inner circle is a "tremendous blow to the regime." * – Lebanese Foreign Minister
Adnan Mansour Adnan Mansour ( ar, عدنان منصور; born 5 January 1946) is a Lebanese diplomat, politician and the former minister of foreign affairs and emigrants. Early life and education Mansour was born in Bourj el-Barajneh on 5 January 1946 into ...
condemned the Damascus bombing. * –
Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement "Moscow strongly condemns terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations. We hope that the organizers of the Damascus terrorist act will be found and punished." Press secretary of
Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
,
Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov ( rus, Дмитрий Сергеевич Песков, p=pʲɪˈskof; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin. * – South Africa strongly condemned the attack and stated that it is opposed to all forms of terrorism and violence. * –
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
reacted negatively to Syria's explanation of the event. * – Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
said that Assad should step down and added "It is time for the United Nations Security Council to Pass clear and tough messages about sanctions, I believe under Chapter 7 of the U.N., and be unambiguous about it."
Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
said that the "incident, which we condemn, confirms the urgent need for a chapter VII resolution of the UN Security Council on Syria." * –
Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in several different public office positions, including Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, White House Chief of Staff, Director of the Office of ...
said that the country was "rapidly spinning out of control", adding that "the international community must bring maximum pressure on Assad to do what's right, to step down and to allow for that peaceful transition". * – The Foreign Ministry condemned the bombing in Damascus and urged foreign powers against military intervention. * –
UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
has strongly condemned the attack and reminded that "acts of violence committed by any party are unacceptable and a clear violation of the six-point plan".


See also

* List of bombings during the Syrian Civil War


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012 07 18 Damascus bombing Explosions in 2012 Terrorist incidents in Damascus during the Syrian civil war Terrorist incidents in Syria in 2012 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Free Syrian Army July 2012 events in Syria Bashar al-Assad Attacks on buildings and structures in Syria