US Embassy In Syria Attacked
Reports from Damascus indicate that four gunmen with automatic weapons and hand grenades attempted to storm the US Embassy in Damascus, Syria. Three attackers were killed by Syrian security forces and the fourth wounded. The attackers did not get inside the compound.
The assailants apparently did not breach the high walls surrounding the white embassy compound in a diplomatic neighborhood of Damascus. But a Chinese diplomat was slightly injured by a stray bullet during the attack, China's government news agency said.
A witness said one Syrian guard outside the embassy also was killed, but the government did not immediately confirm that. At the embassy in Damascus, as at most American embassies worldwide, a local guard force patrols outside the compound's walls while U.S. Marine guards are mostly responsible for guarding classified documents and fighting off attackers inside the compound.
Witnesses also said the gunmen tried to throw hand grenades into the embassy compound, shouting "Allah Akbar!" or "God is great!" It was not clear if any of the grenades made it over the walls, which are about 8 feet high.
It does not appear that US Marines go involved at all since the attackers did not come close to breaching the gates.
World news | Gaius September 12, 2006
