Syrian state television broadcast footage on Thursday of President Bashar al-Assad attending prayers at a Damascus mosque to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr after opposition reports of an attack of his motorcade.
Video purports to show smoke rising from the Malki district of Damascus, Syria.
Activists reported shelling near Assad’s home, convoy.
Syrian rebels claimed they scored an attack on the presidential motorcade today as Assad attended prayers to mark the end of Ramadan.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
Two Syrian rebel factions said they attacked a presidential motorcade in Damascus with mortar shells Thursday, in what would be the most brazen attempt yet to target President Bashar al-Assad, a charge the government promptly denied.
Rebels said they fired rockets and mortars at a motorcade carrying Mr. Assad to prayers to mark the Muslim ‘Id al-Fitr holiday following Ramadan at a mosque in the capital’s central al-Malki district.
While rebel fighters have launched attacks from their hide-outs in the Damascus suburbs on central areas of the capital before, this is the first time they have claimed to target the president’s motorcade. Last summer, they claimed responsibility for a bombing in Damascus that killed several senior security officials at a meeting.
Following the statements by the Tahrir al-Sham and Liwaa al-Islam rebel units, Syrian state television broadcast footage of Mr. Assad praying alongside Syrian officials in a mosque identified as the Anas bin Malek mosque in Malki, near the president’s residence there.
Al Qaeda militants in Syria led in the capture of a military base early Tuesday, showing the strength of foreign extremists fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
