Syrian Rebels: We Hit Assad's Motorcade

President's reps say attack missed him entirely
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 8, 2013 4:56 PM CDT
Syrian Rebels: We Hit Assad's Motorcade
In this Saturday, Nov. 03, 2012 photo, rebel fighters run for cover through smoke from an explosion.   (AP Photo/Narciso Contreras)

It's he said/he said in Syria today after rebels claimed to have struck President Bashar Assad's motorcade this morning with mortar shells, Al-Jazeera reports. A regime-linked TV station said shells did hit Assad's upscale Damascus neighborhood, hurting two guards, but presidential reps insist his presidential convoy was not affected. For proof, they pointed to footage of Assad praying at a mosque soon after—but the video may have been pre-recorded, the BBC notes.

Either way, rebels showed their ability to damage an area of the capital once considered secure. "This is the area where Assad lives and works," said a journalist reporting from neighboring Lebanon. "It is a very upscale and supposedly safe neighborhood, which is still under the control of the government." In other Syria news, Amnesty International released depressing satellite photos yesterday of the ongoing destruction in Aleppo, one of the nation's biggest cities. (More Syrian uprising stories.)

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