Beirut (dpa) – Syria's interior minister vowed an “iron fist” response to avenge the Damascus bombing that killed 26 people and wounded 63 the day before, Syria's state-run television reported Saturday. “We will hit back with an iron fist at anyone who tries to tamper with the security of the country or its citizens,” said minister Ibrahim al-Shaar on Syria's state television. On Friday, a suicide bomber blew up himself in the Maidan district of Damascus, the government said. Al-Shaar said that, among the 26 people killed, there were 15 who could not be identified because their bodies had been torn apart in the blast. Syrian opposition groups blamed the regime for the blast and said the “whole thing was staged.” “The area was closed shortly before the blast took place on Friday and people in the area were warned to stay home before it went off,” a Syrian activist based in northern Lebanon told dpa. “Shortly after the blast took place, some security forces were seen dropping personal belongings near the blown bus,” he said. He added that the Syrian regime is bringing dead bodies, of people shot and killed previously in areas like Daraa and Homs, to places like the bombing site to inflate the number of victims. The blast, which was only three kilometers from the US embassy in Damascus, wrecked a bus and cars as well as smashing windows along the heavily populated Maidan street. Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al Thani, who heads the Arab League committee on Syria, said Damascus was not implementing a deal between the League and Syria that aims at halting violence in the country. He said League monitors could not stay there to “waste time.” “With great regret, the news is not good,” Sheikh Hamad told Al Jazeera. He added that this issue will be discussed at an Arab League committee meeting on Sunday to discuss an initial report by the observers checking Syria's compliance with the plan. An Arab diplomat in Beirut told dpa that the Arab League will have “a crucial meeting on Sunday and it may decide whether to continue the mission or to refer Syria to the United Nations Security Council, perhaps paving the way for some form of international action.” The uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime started in mid-March. The government's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has killed more than 5,000 people, according to UN estimates. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/3QAcm Tags: Bombing, Damascus, Iron Fist Section: Latest News, Syria
