Another foreign policy success for Obama. “Suicide bombers hit Syria security complex: rebels,” by Khaled Yacoub Oweis for Reuters, October 9 (thanks to all who sent this in):
(Reuters) – Rebel suicide bombers struck overnight at an Air Force Intelligence compound on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, killing or wounding at least 100 people, insurgents and activists said on Tuesday.
The militant Islamist group al-Nusra Front said it had mounted the attack because it was used a center for torture and repression in the crackdown on the 18-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
“Big shockwaves shattered windows and destroyed shop facades. It felt as if a bomb exploded inside every house in the area,” said one resident of the suburb of Harasta, where the compound was located.
Activists living nearby said the bombing caused at least 100 casualties among security personnel, based on the number of ambulances that rushed to the scene and the enormity of the explosions….
Opposition sources said the al-Nusra Front is made up mostly of Syrian Salafists who had ties to intelligence agencies before the revolt and were allowed to use Syria as a launchpad against the then U.S.-backed, Shi’ite-led government in Baghdad.
The United Nations says the front is affiliated to al Qaeda….