Syrian PM escapes bomb attack
Halqi escaped an assassination attempt Monday when a bomb exploded near his convoy in Damascus.
DAMASCUS (AP) - Syria s prime minister escaped a brazen assassination attempt Monday when a bomb exploded near his convoy in Damascus, state media reported, in the latest attack to target a top official in President Bashar Assad s regime.
Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi was not hurt in the explosion in the capital s western neighborhood of Mazzeh, state TV said. The TV showed footage of heavily damaged cars and debris in the area as firefighters fought to extinguish a large blaze set off by the blast.
The state news agency said al-Halqi condemned the bombing, and quoted him as saying that the assassination attempt exposes how armed groups "are bankrupt" after the latest advances made by Syrian troops around the country.
As evidence that the prime minister was unhurt, the state-run Al-Ikhbariya station said al-Halqi went into a regular weekly meeting with an economic committee straight after the bombing.
The station broadcast video of the prime minister sitting around a table in a room with several other officials. But in comments after the meeting, al-Halqi made no reference to the blast, nor was he asked about it by reporters, leaving doubt as to whether the footage was filmed before or after the bombing.
In January, al-Halqi formed a ministerial committee to conduct dialogue with opposition groups. The dialogue is part of efforts to implement a peace plan, including a national reconciliation conference, Assad outlined in a speech earlier that month.
The opposition says it will not accept anything less than Assad s departure, and progress has been made on the dialogue since it was announced.
A Syrian government official told The Associated Press that an improvised explosive device was placed under a car that was parked in the area and was detonated as al-Halqi s convoy passed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The attack in the highly secure Mazzeh neighborhood took place only about 100 meters (yards) from the Swiss ambassador s residence. The posh area also is home to a major military air base. Security forces sealed off the area shortly after the blast, allowing only pedestrians to get near the scene of the bombing.
Damaged cars, their seats soaked with blood, were surrounded by debris. A blackened shell of a school bus was left standing. A man told state TV that none of the students on board were hurt because the explosion went off shortly after they had left the bus and headed into the school.
The attack was not the first targeting a high official in the Syrian capital during the past year.
