Syria speculates over attack

By Kim Ghattas BBC correspondent in Damascus

The mysterious gun battle which pitted armed assailants against security forces in Damascus on Tuesday evening has left Syrians, as well as diplomats, perplexed about the identity of the attackers and their aim.

Syrian authorities have not released any details yet about the identity of the assailants.

Two of them were reported to have been killed. Another two were seriously injured and taken to a military hospital where they will soon be, or are already being, questioned.

The attack happened in the diplomatic quarter of Damascus

Officials suggest the attackers were not Syrian.

But the finger is being pointed at Islamic fundamentalists.

Information Minister Ahmad al-Hassan told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that they seemed to be Islamic militants of "different nationalities".

"In view of the terrorist acts and volatile situation in the region the fingers of accusation do not exclude al-Qaeda," he said.

Links are being made with the bombings in Riyadh and the foiled attack against Jordan's intelligence headquarters earlier this month.

Jordan said the would-be attackers had infiltrated into the country from neighbouring Syria. One of those arrested was an 18-year old Syrian, but Jordanian officials insisted this did not mean the Syrian government was involved.

'Circle of terror'

"What happened is evidence that the circle of terror is widening in the region," Mahdi al-Dakhlallah, editor of the government-run Al-Baath daily, told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

"Logical analysis indicates that extremists are behind these attacks."

Syrian analyst Thabet Salem said the aim of the armed men was simply to send a message to the authorities saying that, after 25 years of calm, Muslim fundamentalism was still a threat to be reckoned with in Syria.

In the early 1980s, Syria brutally crushed a Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the north of the country, killing around 10,000 people.

There is still the remote possibility that the attacks were carried out by disgruntled Kurds.

Last month, Syria saw unprecedented rioting by its Kurdish minority. Several people were killed and scores of Kurds are still in prison.

But this appears unlikely, especially since talks with the government on Wednesday about more rights for the Kurds seem to have had a positive outcome and promises were made for the release of jailed Kurds.

Unlikely target

Analysts and diplomats seem to agree with the theory that the assault was carried out by Islamists, although the reason why the group may have decided to stage an attack at this time, and in Syria, is not exactly clear.

Of all Arab countries - many of which, such as Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are key US allies - Syria appears to be the least likely target for groups related to al-Qaeda.

A policeman, passer-by and two alleged bombers were killed

Syria is on the US state department list of countries that sponsor terrorism because of its support for radical anti-Israel groups such as the Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, which both have offices in Damascus.

The country says it does not give any material assistance to these groups, but does fully support their cause.

Syria also faces the prospect of US sanctions because of its support for these groups and also because, according to Washington, it has not done enough to stop militants from crossing its borders into Iraq to attack US troops there.

Syria was also fiercely opposed to the US-led war in Iraq and has said the attacks against US troops in Iraq are legitimate resistance against an occupation.

Syria's position on all these issues means it should be in the good books of al-Qaeda and possibly spared as a staging-ground for attacks against Western targets on its territory.

But despite this, the Syrian regime is certainly not perfect in the eyes of the likes of Osama Bin Laden.

'Fuelling extremism'

It is ruled by the secular Baath party. It has a history of crushing Muslim fundamentalism and even Washington admitted Syria had been helpful in the war against al-Qaeda.

After the attack, Syria's ambassador to the US said that his country and the US shared a common enemy in al-Qaeda.

DAMASCUS VIOLENCE A bomb exploded and police clashed with gunmen in the west of the city, close to the Iranian and Canadian embassies

But it is unclear why this has suddenly become reason enough for Islamist militants to stage an attack in Syria.

Questions are also being raised about how it was possible for the group to actually operate and gather weapons unhindered, considering the tight security in Syria.

After the attack, Syrian authorities vowed they would stamp out terrorism and officials insisted the incident did not mean that security in the country was weak.

Demands for change in the country had been growing more vocal and there are fears now that the authorities will use the security issue as a reason to clamp down even further on opposition.

This has not deterred some human rights activists to come out after the attacks and say they believe the tight security is actually part of the problem.

Human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni was quoted on Wednesday as saying that the stifling of freedoms in Syria was fuelling extremism.