Regime denies attack on Assad

DAMASCUS: Syrian authorities took the rare step of denying reports of an attack on President Bashar Assad’s motorcade as he drove to a Damascus mosque Thursday to attend prayers marking Muslim holidays.
It was the first report of a direct attack on the embattled leader since the March 2011 outbreak of the anti-regime revolt in Syria.
Several media outlets, including Al-Arabiya television, and activists on the ground said a rocket attack targeted Assad’s motorcade headed to Anas bin Malik mosque in central Damascus to join Eid Al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
“Regarding the information reported by Al-Arabiya, I can assure you that it is completely false,” Information Minister Omran Al-Zohbi told state television.
“The president arrived at the mosque driving his own car, he attended the prayer and greeted everyone in the mosque as he does every day when he meets people,” Zohbi added.
“Everything is normal,” Zohbi added. “They wanted to spoil the celebrations for Syrians.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights could not confirm the reported rocket attack but said mortar shells early Thursday hit the upmarket Malki area in central Damascus, near to where Assad was attending Eid prayers and where his offices are also located.
The NGO did not report any casualties or victims in the shelling, which however indicated that rebels seeking to topple Assad are able to launch attacks despite relentless attempts by regime forces to clear the capital of insurgents. Two rebel groups, Liwa Al-Islam and Liwa Tahrir Al-Sham, later separately claimed via Facebook to have attacked Assad’s convoy, with the latter claiming the convoy was hit by mortar fire.
Assad himself appeared in footage shown by state television sitting on the ground next to other dignitaries, appearing relaxed and smiling during the morning prayer.
While Assad attended prayers in Damascus, opposition chief Ahmad Jarba visited Daraa in the south of the strife-torn country near the Jordanian border Thursday to mark Eid Al-Fitr feast, a National Coalition source told AFP.
“This visit to the south shows that large swathes of Syria, from the north to the south, are in opposition control,” the source said.