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Friday, December 4, 2009     GET REAL

Al Qaida seen tied to bus bombing; Syria, Iran issue conflicting reports

NICOSIA Ñ Syria, in what could signal the resumption of Al Qaida-aligned attacks, was rocked by a bus bombing reported to have killed up to 12 Iranian pilgrims.   

Western diplomatic sources said the attack on Dec. 3 targeted Shi'ite pilgrims from Iran who were visiting a holy site in Damascus, Middle East Newsline reported. They said a bus loaded with Iranian pilgrims blew up at a gasoline station in a suburb of Damascus.

"We believe the attack was meant to harm Iranian-Syrian relations," a diplomatic source said.


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Reports of the attack differed widely. The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad denied that any attack took place, saying three people were killed when a tire of an Iranian bus exploded.

"An investigation showed that no act of a terrorist nature was behind the explosion," Syrian Interior Minister Said Samour said.

But the Iranian state-controlled media said at least 12 of the casualties were Iranian pilgrims. The official Iranian news agency, Irna, said many other pilgrims were taken to a nearby hospital and security forces sealed the area.

The bombing, which took place during the visit by Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Said Jailil, marked the first insurgency strike in Damascus in nearly a year. Al Qaida-aligned bombings rocked the Syrian capital in late 2008. In September 2008, 17 people were killed in a suicide car bombing near Syrian intelligence headquarters.

The Syrian opposition said the explosion took place about two kilometers from a leading Shi'ite shrine in Damascus, Sayedah Zainab. The opposition said the bomb was so powerful that nearby buildings were heavily damaged.

The opposition Reform Party of Syria said Iran might have masterminded the attack in an attempt to pressure Syria against a reconciliation with the West. Another scenario was that the Palestinian movement Hamas carried out the attack amid a Syrian effort to prevent a realignment with Saudi Arabia.

"Whether Iran, Israel or Hamas are behind the blast, Assad is the loser in all three scenarios," RPS said. "How he responds and against whom will be known soon. It is expected that Iran will respond by sending another delegation to Damascus, which will certainly change Jalili's original agenda."



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