Close Call At U.S. Embassy In Syria

An attempt by Islamic Militants to blow up the US embassy in Syria has been prevented only because the Car Bomb they used did not detonate.

DAMASCUS, Syria - Islamic militants attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in a brazen attack Tuesday using automatic rifles, hand grenades and at least one van rigged with explosives, the government said. Syrian security forces killed three of the attackers.

The assailants apparently did not breach the high walls surrounding the white embassy compound in a diplomatic neighborhood of Damascus. But a Chinese diplomat was slightly injured by a stray bullet during the attack, China's government news agency said.

A witness said one Syrian guard outside the embassy also was killed, but the government did not immediately confirm that. At the embassy in Damascus, as at most American embassies worldwide, a local guard force patrols outside the compound's walls while U.S. Marine guards are mostly responsible for guarding classified documents and fighting off attackers inside the compound.

Witnesses also said the gunmen tried to throw hand grenades into the embassy compound, shouting "Allah Akbar!" or "God is great!" It was not clear if any of the grenades made it over the walls, which are about 8 feet high.

The attack came at a time of high tension between the United States and Syria over the recent Israeli-Hezbollah war in neighboring Lebanon, and a time of high anti-American sentiment in Damascus. Read More...

Their intentions are still very clear. After our day of mourning, the battle goes on.

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