From online dispatches
In this July 13, 2010 file photo, Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and his wife Asma Assad, listen to explanations as they visit a technology plant in Tunis. AP photo
Syria's embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, was wounded in yesterday's bomb attack which killed the country's top security chiefs,
The Guardian reported today.
The report also claimed al-Assad's wife, Asma, had fled to Russia.
Unconfirmed reports claimed that al-Assad had suffered injuries in yesterday's attack which killed his brother-in-law and the deputy chief of the Armed Forces, Assef Shawkat, as well as Defense Minister Dawoud Rahja and Hassan Turkmani, the crisis management chief.
Assad was in the coastal city of Latakia, directing a response to the assassination of three of his top lieutenants, opposition sources and a Western diplomat said today, as reported by Reuters.
Assad, who has not made a public appearance since yesterday's bombing, was commanding the government operation, they said. It was not clear whether Assad traveled to the Mediterranean sea resort before or after the attack.
Syrian Information Minister Umran al-Zuabi, speaking on state TV yesterday, vowed that those behind the attack would be held accountable even if they were outside the country.
He also said the bombing was orchestrated by Turkish, Qatari, Saudi Arabian and Israeli intelligence.
July/19/2012