Three senior Syrian officials including Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Assef Shawkat, Security Chief General Hisham Ikhtiyar and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmeni were killed in a bombing at the headquarters of the National Security Bureau on Wednesday.
Cabinet ministers and senior security officials were meeting inside the building at the time of the explosion. Many others, including Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar, were injured in the blast. He is reported to be in a stable condition.
“Today’s terrorist attack… indicates that terrorism is taking root in Syria and the region,” Salehi said in a phone conversation with joint UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan on Wednesday.
The Iranian Foreign Minister condemned the attack and reiterated Iran's support for Annan’s plan for resolving the crisis in Syria.
Salehi urged Annan to prevent a repetition of risky and unpleasant outcomes of terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan by adopting firm stances with regards to Syria.
The terrorist Free Syrian Army (FSA) and another armed group, fighting against the Syrian government, have both claimed responsibility for the attack.
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