Syria's defense minister and deputy killed. 18.7.2012 CSF Rieti

	Syria's defense minister and deputy killed. 18.7.2012 CSF Rieti A bomb blast in Damascus has killed Syria's defense and deputy defense ministers in an escalation of fighting in the capital. Syria's military reported on state-run television that Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha and deputy defense minister Assef Shawkat were among the victims in a bomb explosion. Shawkat was President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law. The military said terrorists carried out the attack on the National Security building on Wednesday. It pledged to defend the country and gain revenge on the rebels. The Syrian government says General Fahd al-Freij has been appointed as the new defense minister. Reports on Syrian national TV said the defense officials were at a meeting with other cabinet ministers and security officials when the blast ripped through the building. It said Interior Minister Mohammad Shaar was also wounded, but is in stable condition.The dead Syrian Defense Minister Rajha was in his 60s. Dubai-based Al Arabiya satellite TV says that he graduated from a military academy and served a string of posts before becoming defense minister last August.He is said to have been a trusted official to President Bashar al-Assad. Anti-government forces condemned him for playing the key role in suppressing citizens.Rajha was on a sanctions list of the US Treasury Department, which considered him a key figure in the Assad administration.He was a rare senior Christian official in Assad's government, whose ministers are mostly Alawi Muslims.The National Security <b>...</b>	From: CSFRieti Views: 0 0 ratings
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