A Damascus suicide bombing targets police bus

Damascus suicide bombing targets police bus

A suicide bomber killed up to 25 people and wounded an estimated 46 in the Maidan district of central Damascus, according to Syrian state news agency (SANA), in the city’s third such attack in the past month. The bomber targeted a police bus causing some casualties in the security forces, but mainly civilians were killed. The Syrian government blamed al-Qaeda “terrorists.” Head of the Free Syria Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, denied involvement, with the FSA accusing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of staging the attacks. Meanwhile, forces loyal to Assad opened fire on Arab League monitors touring Arbeen, a suburb of Damascas. The monitors were able to escape without injury, but the incident raised concerns that the Arab League will withdraw its observer mission, leading to possible further international intervention. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said, “We always try to create a solution to this crisis within the Arab League, but that depends on the Syrian government and the extent of its clarity with us in producing a solution to the crisis.”

Headlines  

• Three roadside bombs in Baghdad targeting Shiite pilgrims killed 2 people. Meanwhile, five rockets were fired hitting Baghdad’s Green Zone near the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi Parliament.
• Turkey’s ex-army chief, Gen. Ilker Basburg, was arrested on charges of attempting to instigate a coup through anti-government propaganda websites, escalating civil versus military tensions.
• China and Japan considered cutbacks in crude oil purchases from Iran after the European Union met to discuss an embargo that could be delayed in concern for fragile European economies.
• The prosecution in the Egyptian trial of former Mubarak regime members called for the hanging of ousted President Hosni Mubarak at the end of its arguments, with a verdict expected prior to the Egyptian revolution’s January 25 anniversary.
• The U.N. human rights office criticized Saudi Arabia for a dramatic increase in executions from 29 in 2010 to at least 70 in 2011.

Daily Snapshot

Syrian and Lebanese anti-Assad Muslim men pray outside a mosque in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli for the victims of a bombing that ripped through central Damascus on January 6, 2012, killing and wounding dozens of people, according to Syrian state media. Syriai’s banned Muslim Brotherhood group accused the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which has been facing daily protests since mid-March, of orchestrating the bombing (AFP/Getty Images).  

Arguments & Analysis

‘Iran’s self-destructive gamble’ (Alireza Nader & James Dobbins, International Herald Tribune)

“Over the longer term, Iran will be brought into full conformity with its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty only under a new and more moderate regime. The best way for the United States to promote such a development is to support the democratization of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and Syria, where regimes have fallen or are tottering, and where the United States has the access and the potential influence it lacks inside Iran.” 

‘The unexpected rise of Salafists has complicated Egyptian politics’ (Omar Ashour, The Daily Star)

“Right now, the Muslim Brotherhood seems determined, above all, to limit the military’s role in shaping the Constitution. It also wants to empower Parliament and monitor the security services more effectively. The Salafists, on the other hand, are focused on pushing a socially conservative agenda to satisfy their electoral base. If the SCAF continues tacitly to support one side, as it has been doing, it will likely fuel greater Islamist-secular polarization, rather than deepening the rift between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists; the prospect of an FJP-Nour coalition would then grow.”

‘Israel’s radical settlers’ (Roxanne Horesh, Al Jazeera English)

“In a conflict-driven region, critics question whether the rise in settler violence and direct attack on the Ephraim Brigade signals a new era or whether the episode will go into a collective historical oblivion. Some are asking whether the group is a fifth column in Israel and why the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security forces, remains impotent in the face of these settlers.”

Latest from the Channel

— ‘Tunisia’s student Salafis’ by Monica Marks

— ‘Israeli-Palestinian talks in Jordan: Working hard at treading water’ by Daniel Levy and Leila Hilal