Suicide bombers attack air force intelligence complex in Damascus, at least 15 killed

Suicide bombers attacked the Air Force Intelligence complex in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, using two suicide car bombs loaded with tons of explosives, the official news agency SANA reported.

Witnesses told AFP the blast was followed by heavy gunfire. According to reports in local media, at least 15 people were killed, and more than 60 sustained injuries.

Reuters news reported Al-Nusra, a militant Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, but according to the Free Syrian Army official website, no one has yet announced the responsibility for this attack.

Meanwhile, Al Arabiya and Sky News, broadcasting from Dubai, reported that Free Syrian fighters shot down a MiG-23 fighter jet near the city of Haleb. However, there has been no independent confirmation. If confirmed, this will be the 24th time that the Syrian air force lost a MiG aircraft during the ongoing civil conflict in the country since mid-March 2011.

Based on a report published on www.almokhtsar.com, the Free Syrian Army downed and damaged 61 war planes (37 helicopters and 24 MIG) in 7 months, with 30 of them occurred last month.

The Syrian authorities have made no comment on this data so far. It's worth mentioning that if a statement will be issued by the Syrian authorities, it would be a repetition of all their previous statements issued in such cases: Technical failure occurred while the aircraft was in test flight, causing the control panel to break down.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the worst-case scenarios are now playing out in Syria and that Turkey will do everything necessary to protect itself.

Gul also said the violence in Turkey's southern neighbor, where a revolt against the Bashar al-Assad regime has evolved into a civil conflict that threatens to draw in regional powers, cannot go on indefinitely. He said Assad's fall is inevitable.

Gul's comments came as Turkey returned fire after mortar shells from Syria landed in the country's Haytay Province. It is the sixth consecutive day of Turkish retaliation.

Furthermore, the regime forces attacked Free Syrian fighters neighborhoods of the city of Homs and the nearby town of Qusayr.

"The army is in the midst of trying to cleanse the last rebel districts of the city of Homs," a Syrian army commander said.

The official news agency SANA reported Syrian army have killed at least 100 terrorists near the central city of Homs. The agency also said the army has already cleansed the villages surrounding Qusayr and is now trying to take back the town itself.

Opinion:

I guess the strategy of the Free Syrian army is starting to be assured -- bombings every day, targeting the military power of Assad's regime. We have to be optimistic but not exaggerate in saying that the criminal regime of Assad is no longer controlling its military sites.

I was surprised today that Turkish president declared to media a threat to Assad's regime. Still, it fits with the same pattern of threatening the regime. Apparently, the Turkish prime minister and foreign minister felt that the world was getting bored of their repetition of hollow threats to Assad.

We hereby thank the Turkish president for this statement, knowing that the Turkish-Syrian border is witnessing heavy shelling. However, the Turkish media fail to mention everything, and the Syrian media have neglected to mention any event on the border with Turkey.

As for the fall of the aircrafts, obviously I personally believe all that is announced by the Free Syrian Army. Thus the site, which I mentioned in my report, is a site close to the Free Syrian Army and does not publish any news without having it confirmed by them. After all, it seems that surface-to air rockets owned by Champions of Free Syrian army have significantly affected the Assad regime and the fall of the aircrafts led to the detraction of aerial bombardment, according to my sources.

Some reports are stating that the Free Syrian Army detained regime's agents who infiltrated their ranks, other reports state the defect of 7 "Alawite" senior officers. So far these news has not been confirmed, at least not by my sources.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19880669

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=287082

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/09/242684.html