Four Generals Among 31 Syrian Soldiers Killed in Rebel Bombing

Bomb Hit Base, Collapsing Building

A rebel bombing destroyed a Syrian army transport base in Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus today, killing at least 31 soldiers within, including three generals and a brigadier-general.

The bombing leveled the building, and raised speculation about whether the rebels had infiltrated the military outright, or had possibly dug a tunnel underneath the building to fill with explosives.

Rebel mouthpiece the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the death toll included only the night shift, and if the bomb was detonated just an hour earlier the toll would likely have been around 200.

A faction within the Free Syrian Army calling itself the Direh al-Aasmeh Brigade took credit for the attack, and issued a video showing the building’s collapse.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.