Bomb rocks Syria state TV headquarters

2012-08-06 10:07

File (AP)

Damascus - A bomb blast rocked the headquarters of Syrian state television in the heart of Damascus on Monday wounding several people, Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi said.

"It is clear that the blast was caused by an explosive device," Zoabi said. "Several of our colleagues were injured, but there were no serious injuries, and no dead."

The broadcaster said that the blast hit the third floor of its headquarters. It remained on the air despite the bombing.

The television building lies in the Omayyad district of Damascus, a highly guarded area surrounded by multiple security barriers.

The bombing was not the first attack on the pro-government media in Syria.

On 27 June, gunmen armed with explosives attacked the offices outside Damascus of the Al-Ikhbariya satellite channel outside Damascus killing three journalists and four security guards.

On 18 July, four top security officials - including President Bashar Assad's brother-in-law - were killed in a bombing claimed by the rebel Free Syrian Army that rocked the heart of the regime.

A subsequent investigation found that a technician in the office of Hisham Ikhtiar, head of the National Security agency, had planted explosives in the room where the crisis cell meeting was held.

- AFP